The things we do for our kids

This week is Spring Break week in our town, and Emma and I have been having slumber parties in the living room every night this week. I really wanted to sleep in my own bed this evening, but I just couldn't say no when Emma asked if we could have a sleepover again tonight.

We have these slumber parties quite often, Emma and I. It may seem indulgent to some ~ as it does to me from time to time ~ but I know that all too soon Emma will be too "grown up" to ask her mommy to have sleepovers with her anymore. So I'm taking advantage of it while I still have the chance.

Normally I watch Emma's movies during these slumber parties, but tonight I was really hoping to finish watching MY movie, the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth). So I told Emma that she could choose one movie (she chose Cinderella), and after that we would watch my movie. (I figured it would put her right to sleep. LOL)

So after her cinematic choice ended, we went upstairs and brushed our teeth and got ready for bed. I turned off the light in the living room and resumed my movie, hoping to coax Emma to quickly and quietly go to sleep. No such luck, of course. She played, albeit fairly quietly, and frequently asked questions about what was going on in the movie for probably another hour before finally crashing.

These slumber parties make me tired ~ since I'm not as young as I used to be ~ but I wouldn't trade these nights with my baby for anything.

Could you say no to something this sweet? I think not.

Reading rocks

I always enjoyed reading when I was in school. Well, let me amend that statement: I always enjoyed reading novels ~ not so much with the textbook reading.

I still have several of the books I read in high school and college. I don't have "The Great Gatsby," which I remember enjoying quite a bit; but I can probably get that at the library, which I may do. Here are the books I still have from school:

• "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte
• "The Sword in the Stone" by T.H. White
• "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
• "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
• "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
• "The Little Prince" (in English) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry {I was supposed to read the French version in high school... I will now admit that I cheated and read the English version. There, I said it.}
• "Murder in the Cathedral" by T.S. Eliot
• "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

I also still have the books I remember were some of my favorites as a younger child:

• "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin (I read this one over and over and over. Nothing like a fun mystery.)
• "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" by Roald Dahl
• "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle
• "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I also really liked "The Indian and the Cupboard" by Lynne Reid Banks. I don't seem to have that one, but I do have the two sequels to it, "The Return of the Indian" and "The Secret of the Indian." These are great books for younger readers. Heck, I'd probably still enjoy them now.

My current favorites are the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series. Those are always great go-to books when I want something to read. But I have been on a kick of wanting to read the classics, and especially ones I've heard were good but never had the opportunity to read.

I am currently enjoying Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." I checked it out at the local library, and of course the only copy available was the large-print edition. I'm just over halfway through the book and am finally getting used to the giant words.

Do you like to read? What are you reading now? What types of books do you enjoy most? Could I be any more nosy?

St. Patrick's Day fun

I'll admit that I've never really been a big celebrator of St. Patrick's Day; but after becoming a mom, my type of fun on the day is certainly much more different than that of the people you'll hear about on the news.

Last night Emma and I had a fun slumber party in the living room. We watched a bunch of cartoon shows of her choosing, then I turned them off and watched DVR'd shows after she fell asleep. We woke up to a beautifully sunny, warm day, which was such a nice change of pace.

We took a walk with Norbert in our neighborhood.

We had a fun afternoon with the blinds open and sun streaming through the windows, playing Wii Sports and Mario Party 8. Emma got to ride her bike and paint with water on the driveway for a little bit while Chris grilled steaks for dinner. We even ate at the dinner table for the first time in too long for dinner.

One of the topics we discussed at dinner was how excited Emma and I are to go to the Imagination Movers concert at the end of the month. Emma wanted to make a sign to hold up, so she decided we needed to do that immediately after dinner. Rich is her favorite Mover, so Chris came up with a clever sign slogan: Rich ROCKS.

I figured it would be much cuter for Emma to actually write the sign. I was right. :)

So that was our exciting St. Patty's Day. Do you have any annual SPD traditions?

How to: St. Patrick's Day wrap-around hat

Emma came home from preschool today with a note from her teacher that said she is to wear green on Wednesday. Emma made sure to tell me that she was allowed to wear a green hat if she had one. She does not, in fact, have a green hat; but I knew she really wanted to wear one.

I scoured the internet for easy ideas on how to make a St. Patrick's Day hat, but I couldn't find anything that I could make with the materials I already have. So I came up with my own idea. And here's how it turned out...

Cute, right? I am pleased with the results. And it only took about 10 minutes or so.

Here are the materials I used for the hat: one 8.5x11" sheet of black cardstock, one 8.5x11" sheet of green printer paper, one 8.5x11" sheet of yellow printer paper, ruler, pencil, scissors, paper cutter, glue stick, Scotch tape, and double-stick tape.

1. Cut several 1.5" strips long-wise of black cardstock.
2. Put together the ends of two strips and tape with Scotch tape on one side (this will be the inner side of the wrap-around headband). Put a small piece of double-stick tape on the opposite side between the two strips (so the tape doesn't show on the outside of the headband). Repeat with the amount of strips you need to fit around the child's (or your) head.
3. Wrap the band around the child's (or your) head and hold the strips together. Repeat Step 2, making a full ring out of the strips of paper. Set aside the ring.
4. Cut the green paper to 8x11". Measure and cut the hat how big/small you want it. In my hat, the brim is 2" high by 8" across. The tall part is 6" high by 5" across.
5. Cut a 1.5x6" strip of black paper for the band.
6. Cut a 3x3" square of yellow paper for the buckle. Measure down 3/4" from each side, making a square in the center. Cut out the center.
7. Glue/tape the yellow buckle to the black band, then attach to the hat.
8. Cut a 1.5x7" strip of black cardstock and glue to the back of the hat (this will help the hat stand up).
9. Put a 2" piece of double-stick tape on the back of the had in the center of the brim and attach it to the ring. And that's it!

I may add a sparkly shamrock (Emma loves using glitter glue) on the upper part of the hat. But we'll see. Feel free to embellish your hat to your heart's content.

It seems pretty sturdy on Emma's head. She was moving her head all around, and it stayed on well. So hopefully it will last on Wednesday at school. We'll see about that, too.

Happy early St. Patrick's Day!

Creativity is cool

What comes to mind when you think of the word "creative"? I think, for most people, the word creative describes someone who is artistic. I know that's what I usually mean when I call someone creative.

A friend of mine called me creative recently because of the baby shower invitations I made for her and another idea I had for something she was wanting to make to go along with them. Here are some photos of the items I made (I am really pleased with the way they turned out and honestly just wanted to share them with you all)...

After I told her my idea, she said, "Wish I was this creative." So I was pondering that today, and I've decided that there are many ways a person can be creative besides just being "artistic."

• A teacher who comes up with interesting, fun ways to teach which makes their students excited to learn.
• A cook who tweaks a recipe - or comes up with his/her own recipe - that turns out delicious. Or even if it doesn't turn out, trying something outside of the box is creative.
• A woman who picks out fabulous outfits and enhances them with great jewelry pieces.
• A child with an active, vibrant imagination.

Those are just a few examples of creativity. What do you think? What do you find creative?

Cheese!

I took photos for some friends at their daughters' birthday party yesterday. And tonight I'm taking photos during all the dance classes at church. I'm really getting into taking photos. I'm sure I have tons to learn about the proper way to compose a great photo; but our Nikon D40x makes taking good pictures so easy. (Do I sound like a commercial, or what?)

Here are just a couple of the 200+ pictures I took last night at the party...

How sweet is that last photo? It's so fun to be able to catch sweet moments with the camera.

And funny moments.

And action-packed moments.

I also like to try to take artsy photos sometimes. I actually took these with the point-and-shoot camera I always carry in my purse, then I futzed with the colors in Photoshop.

I took those at my grandparents' farm house not long before it was sold. I also made a black and white version of the chicken coop photo. I like black and white photos.

Maybe I should be a photographer. Or maybe I should just stick to taking pictures for fun and leave photography to the professionals.

Brilliant!

Today at Emma's school they celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss.

And we were supposed to put the kids in either black and white or red, white and black (like the Cat in the Hat).

"The Emma in the Hat"

I enjoy writing. From time to time, I think about maybe trying to write a kids' book. Then when I try to come up with an idea, I can't think of anything that's not been done already. People like Shel Silverstein (The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, etc.), Victoria Kann (author of the Pinkalicious books), and Dr. Seuss have pretty much cornered the market on great kids' literature.

I mean, how GREAT are Dr. Seuss's books?! I loved them as a child. And Emma loves them now. And I have a feeling her kids will love them, too, someday. His stories are timelessly whimsical.

My favorites as a kid were "Green Eggs and Ham" and "Wacky Wednesday". Emma's favorites are "What was I scared of?" (which she calls "Pale Green Pants"), "The Sneetches", and "The Zax" ~ all of which can be found in this book.

Maybe someday I'll be able to come up with a brilliant children's book idea. But, if not, at least we have Dr. Seuss and other great authors like him to keep our children entertained.

What are your favorite children's books?