This is where I am at today!

Today I feel tired. It is nice to have free play/ movie day at daycare. Like everyone, I look forward to the weekend. This is so true today. I am glad the Halloween parties went over well but I am glad they are done. I am looking forward to the weekend. Tonight we are taking the girls around our neighborhood and then trunk or treating at the church up the street. Tomorrow brings new titles into my dinning room and an organized daycare closet. Both projects we have been discussing and planning for a while now. Early evening is a birthday party for Ian, Dustin's half brother. After this party I am going out with the girls to celebrate Brandi's birthday. A night I am looking forward to.
Anyway- nothing too exciting today. I am sure after trick or treating I will have lots to share! Have a wonderful Friday and chat at you later!

here it is...

My daycare application for Group Home Child Care went in the mail today....whew! Now I can finish up the little things on my "to-do" list and wait for the inspection. Why am I so nervous??? I still don't understand this, I guess I wouldn't be human if I weren't. Anyway...it is official, it's in the mail, I can't undo it.
I am sure I will post when I get the inspection and pass... (I have 3x now, I wouldn't think it would be any different this year)!

Our party games....

Our first game was pin the eyes/mouth on the Jack o Lantern. Some kids did this with the blind fold and some did it without. We had a few interesting faces as everyone took their turn.

This Halloween "Twister". I got this idea from my friend Dawn who also blogs and does daycare.(check our her link on the side) I paired up our friends by ages, threw a bean bag up and whatever it landed on was the shape or item they had to stand on. It was pretty cute. I want to make a fall on to play as well.

More pinning (taping) the face on the pumpkin to make him a Jack o Lantern...

This was my favorite part of the party... treats! We have been snacking eating all day! Thank you to all my wonderful parents for providing us with wonderful goodies!

And the last treat before nap time... we changed out of our outfits, did a potty break, and at last ate Pizza (thanks Kim and Shaun for this). Some of my little ones didn't make it this far...they are already sleeping.

My lil' monsters...get it, it Halloween...monsters...not kids...???!!!

As many of you know today we had our Halloween Party... Here are pictures of everyone adorable costumes. We had a fun and loud morning! We played games, we danced, and we ate! Lil C is going as Mc Queen

Rock Chalk Jayhawk...Lil'A and J are sporting some awesome team spirit
.

Middle A and Big A are going as a scary friendly ghost and a nice clown...

This is G's second party out of three. She is the mama cat.

Here are the cutest lil' witches I have seen around! They have cute little hats but didn't want them on for the party.

Mama cat and her kitten... they are so cute together!

Once again, my lil mengo

Little Tinker bell had fun snacking and playing around after all of our guest left...

Overall it was a fun time by all. I always stress about the party but once we start it, the kids love it and enjoy showing off their outfits.
See next post for our Halloween games we played!

My grandma....

My dad sent me this picture of my grandma. She lives in KC now I don't get to see her as much as I used to. When we met in Lawrence for lunch, she brought a pair of candy corn earnings and a spider candle for me for Halloween. It was very special. Dad said grandma sit in the lobby with these glasses on goofing around with people for Halloween. She has a great sense of humor.

Busy day...short post...cute pictures!

Yes! This is a picture of my hand, as I was driving to Walmart for the 3rd time in 2 days, I was adding to my list. By the time I actually got there my hand was full and I had to right on the inside.
I love Halloween I really do...but I am ready for it to be over. Treat bags, treats, face paint, costumes, art supplies ect....it is all highly over rated. But then you see the joy, smiles, and the laughs that come from your child when they are at the party or getting their costume on and again it makes it all worth the wild that leads up to that day!
Here is look at the Peanuts doing our spooky spider webs... we did this one in stages. The lil' guys had to sit next to me as I directed the art project. Here is lil' A getting ready to shake her glitter.
Here is big A putting the finishing touches on his web as well... it was messy and sticky but the kids had fun!
C is dipping the noodles in the starch to get them to harden. He started to cry when I asked him to pull the noodles out of the bowel. He wasn't done but we had to move on.
Here are the older kids. I demonstrated the project and then they had free reign of completing the spider cobweb. This also helps with giving/taking instructions, sequencing and order.
So far these are taking a while to dry so tomorrow we'll loop string through them and glue of friendly spiders on them.

I am off to go to Gaby's party soon, I still have to cut tissue paper so... I will blog more later, I'm sure!
Enjoy!

Getting ready for Gaby's party!

Ahhhhhhh!
Tonight it hit me that I was nowhere close to being ready for Gaby's 1st grade Halloween party tomorrow. I am in charge of bringing Halloween books, putting the treat bags together, and an art project for 20 kids. Panic sat in about 8pm when I realized I had not touched the treat bags, gathered books, nor had supplies for their art project...way to go super mom...not!

Here I am sitting at out toddler table putting together 20 bags for the party...let me just say, these parents provided some cool things:play dough, bouncy balls, pencils, mazes, poppers, and scary teeth. Holy Moly... all of it didn't even fit in the bags!

Here are the 30+ mason jars I stole from my Mother in Law, Denise. She is the only person I know that I can call, giving less then 24 hours notice, and get 30 jars the next evening. She saved me a lot of time and money for this art project!!! Thank you Denise!!!

This is our finished project... I am doing this for the first grade party and our daycare party on Thursday. It is so cute yet so simple!
You take a glass jar, paint it with liquid starch. Then you place the tissue paper on the glass while still wet. Paint on another coat of starch. Let dry, place a votive candle in the jar and light! Here is the sample I made.
It has been a long day. I am getting Gaby's cat costume packed up, the rest of the supplies ready to go, books picked out, then off to bed!

Simple things for some!

Some people may think simple things like lining up, putting your shoes on, putting a jacket on are easy to do. Well, for adults it is. However for 1 year olds- 4 year olds this can be a challenge. Since the summer months we have been working on some independent skills such as: getting shoes (younger kids), putting shoes on, getting jackets, lining up, knowing their own cubby, recognizing the letters in their names, ect.
Today it happened. I told the kids it was warm enough that we could go outside this afternoon. EVERYONE (expect infants) got their shoes on, EVERYONE lined up, and EVERYONE could get their own jackets and ask for help if needed. This was a big day for them and me. Once I saw they lined up perfectly, I promptly shouted at them not to move so I could take a picture. It is simple things like this that I get so excited about. It makes everything so worth it when you see something we have been working on "click"! What a proud afternoon...Go Kids!

58 days until Christmas...

Can you imagine that there are only 58 days until Christmas??? I am freaking out about this. There are only 4 paychecks (bi weekly) until this gift giving holiday. Money is only part of it, when do I have the time to shop for gifts?
Each year I sit down and make a list: family, daycare, extras (teachers, co-workers, neighbors ect.). Today was my list day. Then each year, I try to decided who I can kick off my list to make it shorter...then I run it by Dustin and then I usually have to put them back on my list.
This year will be fun! Gaby is at an awesome age where we can get her more "grown up" gifts, Kadyn just loves anything you give her, and this will be Mia's first Christmas so clothing is still an awesome thing for her and she won't remember.
As for daycare kids gift, I am making them this year. I know they get a lot of toys and goodies from their parents and family so I thought I would do something a little different then a toy. I got the idea for my bestest goodest friend Dawn. I am making.......ha, thought you were gonna find out, huh???!!! I actually had to do some research on this project but I think my kiddos will cherish it for a long time to come.
The gifts are only a part of the holiday... I must admit I love decorating my house for Christmas. Seeing the Christmas tree decorated with bulbs from every year I was born, the kids have been born, and Dustin and I have been married brings back so many memories. I love that it takes Dustin a month to figure out how he is doing to decorate the outside of the house in lights. And most of all I love wrapping the gifts and placing them under the tree (and then telling the girls "no" they can't unwrap just one a million of times).
With only 58 days until Christmas, I better wrap this rambling blog post up and get to planning!!!

Mia's one month picture...

This is Mia's one month picture. This picture reminds me everyday, I love being a mommy!!! Just wanted to share one of my favorite Mia pictures...

Our Girls...

Last night we went to out church's Trunk or Treat. Each year Topeka Bible Church holds this event as an outreach for the neighborhood and our church family. It was cold, windy, and...cold but we all had a fun time.

This year G wanted to be a black cat. The first costume I bought this year was for M. It was cute, cheap, and at Walmart. G saw that her lil' sis was going to be a cat and she wanted to be one as well. This is what we came up with.

This is my little "mengo". When K was telling me what she wanted to be it took a while to figure it out. I finally got it when her clue was, " it stands like this ( standing on one leg) and looks like an F"! She had lots of comments on her outfit and how cute she was.
Here is the littlest black cat... M wasn't to thrilled to been in the cold and getting her picture taken. She was a tough though.
This was taken outside our yard on the way to Trunk or Treat! The girls looked great and were excited to get some candy. Despite the weather we had fun seeing all of the decorated trunks, fellowshipping with friends, and watching our kids get a ton of candy!!!

Fluke girls... Halloween 2008

Priceless Husband!

4 trips to the forestry to get mulch for daycare playground= $60.00
Trip to Lowe's to get landscaping timbers and supplies for playground = $120.00
Trip to Harbor Freight for saw blade for daycare project= $25.00
2 days spent outside working to make my playground a better place... PRICELESS!

Today's post is a bit "sappy". After this weekend, I have noticed I do not give my husband enough credit, thanks, and applause for everything he does for me, our children, and my home business. When I come up with crazy ideas or "projects" around the house, he is my go-to man. He has saved our family thousands upon thousands of dollars by researching, learning, and doing things himself.

Once again D has come through for me. As you may know, I am getting ready to send in my renewal paperwork for my Daycare License. This is a scary thing for me. Someone comes in unannounced and judges you, your home, and your job. I feel like a do a good job most days but everything has to be perfect and no one I know has ever gotten a perfect complacence visit. D went above and beyond what the regulations stated we had to do for our swing set that we added this summer. He boxed in the swing set, placed ground cover all over, and nailed it all together... sounds simple, right??? This took 2 days and the help of D's step dad. He never complained, whined, or got upset for the time it took to help my business out and make our playground look nicer for the kids.

D is a very SELFLESS man. He will do anything for anyone and does. Saturday night I came home with 3 boxes of "organize -it" boxes to be put together to tame my daycare closet. He looked at me and told me he would get to it Monday. What a man. Everyday he works full time, commutes to his job, spends time with the kids, and helps me out with my projects and somehow finds time to meet my needs too (not just with that, get your heads out of the gutter). And does it with a positive attitude along the way.

I guess I am now rambling... but take the time to recognize what your spouse does for you, it might not be a 2 day project, putting things together or ripping up the dinning room carpet (next weekend since that is where kids eat and it is stained beyond belief) and replacing it with title... it is the little things that count. Remember to acknowledge what they do everyday... tell them that you love them and you appreciate them. Or even blog about them...=)!

My Exciting Friday!

Today is Friday...that in itself is exciting however it has been a crazy busy morning with all kinds of comments and questions coming from my kids' mouths.
This morning as I was putting M in her swing, I looked out the window and saw this sign across the street. My neighbor called and set this up on our block since there are 15+ kids in a block span. How fun it is to look out and see this cool, bright, sign... it makes me happy! K also saw the sign and asked, "why is that kid running?"...
This a project I can now take of my "to-do" list. This morning I was low in numbers so the daycare kiddos and I picked out pictures to frame. We did review shapes since the frame has all types of shapes and sizes. Give me anything... and I will turn it into a learning experience! While we were picking pictures out, J looks up at me and says, "waura..She so cute"! I promptly agreed!
The highlight of our day was when the guttering people showed up. Let me first say, my house is not broken, it is not going to fall down, and we are all safe. Just in case your preschooler comes home saying other wise. First of all- the kiddos don't understand what guttering is, I tried explaining this. K's reaction was, "why is our house broken, I'm not safe". After that comment, everyone picked up on it and it was all downhill from there. After lunch, K was getting upset and asked, "why are they not done already?". For the first hour they were hear, this is what the kids were doing. Looking out the window. I had a play by play narrative of what was going on. They did not miss a beat!
No, they did not pay me to advertise but... this is why we choose them to do our guttering. First, they have free bids. Second, they were in the SHES book for local businesses. Third, the guy that gave us the quote was super nice. And Last- they were very reasonable...not cheap but doable after saving up for the home improvement!

Our night...

Last night we had a low key, nothing planned, no stress type of night! (And it was great!) After warming up with a hot bowl of chili, cinnamon rolls, and crackers...the girls and D craved pumpkins! I was very impressed with how long the kids stayed and did this with him. This is one of D's favorite parts of the season. Just look at how happy he is with his hands in the pumpkin goop.

After the pumpkin gooping was over, G,K, and M were on the floor playing. I asked D to take some of our pictures since we were goofing around. This was my favorite however M's eyes are devil like!

M is now 2 months and has started to smile when D and I talk to her. I laid next to her and I was able to get some fun smiles. Every once in a while, I will hear a "ohhhhh" in the sweetest lil' voice ever. I would much rather hear that then crying for over 2 hours.
More smiles... what a cute baby!!!
This picture reminds me of G... I looked at her baby album as soon as we brought M hope from the hospital. You can tell they are sisters.... K must be my odd ball...(still love her, doesn't look like G or M)I love the new stages we are coming up on. I love the smiles I get when talking to her, I love the voice I hear when she is cooing, I love that she is holding her head up now. What a healthy and beautiful baby girl!

Picture of the day/contest!

Picture of the day: Normally before lunch (as I am fixing it in the kitchen) the kiddos sit and watch Barney or our ABC video. I will not lie, this is a time of chaos, tattling, and, "Laura, he/she is touching my mat"... but somehow, by God's grace we get through lunch/nap time transitions every day. But today was different...it ran so smoothly!Kids were sitting, no one was touching mats, littler ones were looking at books, and everything was fine with the world. I kept checking one them because there was the lack of chaos, noise, and tattling. What a way to start nap time. High Five's all around...my daycare rocks!

Contest! Contest! Contest!!!

I normally have my house pretty organized... not always clean but organized! I hate clutter, things need to be simple, simple, simple! Here lies my problem child... my daycare closet! This closet is located in Mia's room. It holds art supplies, activities, paper, paint, teacher props, DVD's, books, games, lessons ect. This closet bugs me to no end because I am not making the best use of my space. So, I am asking for help. If you have some organizational ideas, or shelfs you have seen, or ideas to use what I already have... post them or email me. If I use any of your ideas, I have a BLOG GIFT just for you! ***disclaimer-the blog gift will be a fun lil' something for helping out, you will not get rich for submitting any ideas...sorry!***

Overall view of my monster...I have been stewing over this space for over 2 months!!!

Top of the closet has 2 long shelfs that run the length of the space!

Last night's tasty dinner!!!

This was an awesome meal... homemade beer cheese soup and philly cheese steak sandwiches. Okay, this picture is just for show. When D was ready to eat, I got out the fancy plates (the ones that brake), put some herbs on top and "plated" the meal for a picture.
Here is the recipe per Food Network, my favorite site. Try it out; the philly steaks are Walmart's great value and the soup has wonderful taste, makes 8 servings, low cost, and will warm you up after a soggy rainy day! Let me know what you think!!! Yummo!

Ingredients

• 4 ounces butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup minced onions
• 1/4 cup minced celery
• Salt
• Cayenne
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle light beer
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 pound sharp Cheddar, grated
• Dash hot red pepper sauce
• Tempura Broccoli Florets, recipe follows
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 4 minutes to make a blond roux. Add the onions and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 2 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted. Stir in the beer and stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Stir in the milk and cheese. Continue to cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and hot sauce. Reduce the heat and keep warm.

Pumpkin art...

This was the best group shot I could get this AM- We copied pumpkins onto colored card stock and glued pumpkin seeds to them. As we did we counted, sorted, and ate them. This project covered fine motor, gluing skills, counting and sorting skills...all in one project!
Lil' K is taking her turn at pulling the "goo" out of the pumpkin...she wasn't too sure of it, but she tried it!
Lil' A loved making a mess in the pumpkin but would pull the insides out, so I just let her play!
C loved the pumpkin seeds. We washed them and baked them and C ate them... he was upset when they were all gone.
A is taking her turn at un-gooing the pumpkin too- she did good but was ready to wash up!
A wasn't sure at this at first, he pulled a lot out but when he did he described a lot of the textures of the goo which got the older kids talking about what it felt like.
J actually spent a lot of time grabbing seed out as well... He did ask for a spoon or scooper so his hands wouldn't get as messy! =)
Here are the older kids getting ready to dive in... they were so excited to finish this up from yesterday.

Today we talked a lot about pumpkins and used the seeds for several things. We painted with them, glued them, and of course baked them. We learned a lot from our pumpkins so far this week! We even talked about the taste of the seeds. (results listed above cubby)

Enjoy!