Letter J

I think we are definitely getting to the point where we really aren't "learning" the letters, but rather making crafts with the letter of the week. Ella can recognize all the letters, but I still want to continue the cirriculum so that she understands about finishing what she started.

This week with "J", we used Jellybeans to decorate a big J, made a Jellyfish out of a coffee filter and some tissue paper, created some Jungle scenes, made different faces on pumpkins to create Jack-o-lanterns, and used Jello to paint some pictures. The Jello idea was a big failure, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you want a mess! We had planned to make Jewelry too, but it is hard to get the beads out when Miss Audrey is around!

Almost halfway through the alphabet...hopefully we'll finish it up by the end of the summer!

Sunkist

I rarely have soft drinks, but I just can't resist Sunkist. It is the little treat John will pick up for me at the store sometimes when he knows I've had a rough day. During my pregnancy, I wanted it ALL the time, so maybe that's why Audrey was basically trying to lick the inside of my empty bottle at dinner last night!

I read somewhere (not sure if it's true) that things you eat during your pregnancy can translate into things your child will like once they start trying new foods. No wonder my kids can't get enough of ice-cream and M&M's!

Car without a Lid

As we were driving down the road yesterday, this was the conversation between Ella and I.

Ella: Mommy, when I get big, I want to drive a blue car. (Notice-this is the color car her daddy drives).

Mommy: Okay, Ella, but you've got a long time until you can drive.

Ella: When I get a car, I want one without a lid on it.

Mommy: Without what?

Ella: Without a lid on it (As she reaches up to the roof of the car)


How clever! So, I guess Ella will be begging for a convertible when that 16th birthday comes around. Of course, my mother always said convertibles and Jeeps were too dangerous, so I'm thinking Ella may be out of luck.

Celebrating Earth Day

I think I celebrated Earth Day back before it was the politically correct thing to do. Growing up as a daughter of a dad in the garbage business, I remember sporting really "cool" Earth Day shirts, going to Earth Day rallies, and one year distributing recycling bins through neighborhoods. I guess you could say I had "gone green" as a child.

However, I still drive a gas guzzlin' SUV, drink out of water bottles and use paper towels. We do recycle a ton though, bring our reusables bags to the grocery store, and I am more conscious of what is going on to our planet.

One website I love to check out is simplemom.com. She wrote this week about practical ways to go green at home. A few things we already do, some we'll never do, and others I thought I'd really like to try. So.... we celebrated Earth Day 2009 by planting an herb garden. The weather was great and Ella had a blast using her new Dora gloves and shovel to help out.

Ella digging the holes.


So proud of her work. We planted basil, dill (seeds), oregano, chives (seeds) and cilantro.

Audrey watched from the sidelines but had to have every ball in the back yard on her blanket.

After naps, we enjoyed the outdoors and had a popsicle picnic at the park with friends and let the kids feed the ducks.

I am so thankful that God created this perfect planet and I hope that I will treat it well and pass that lesson on to my girls too.

Open, Open, Open

I'm not quite sure what she's looking for but Audrey loves to go our fridge and stand at the door, saying "Open, Open, Open." It reminds me of that old Mervyn's commercial from years ago (I know that really dates me). Once I open the doors, she basically points and grunts to anything. My sweet baby...isn't she just the cutest?

I is for ICE CREAM

What better letter to learn than the one our favorite food starts with? This week, we made an Igloo out of marshmallows and a styrofoam cup, an Inchworm out of an egg carton, used popsicle sticks to make "I's" (which Ella said right away that if you twisted them around they make an "H"), made an insect zoo with stickers, made an Indian headband that Ella is sporting in the picture, and enjoyed Ice Cream Sundaes! Lots of fun!

Tattle Tale

Ella has a new weapon. Anytime she gets in trouble now, her first response is "I want to call my Daddy" or "I'm going to tell my Daddy." With John's very busy work schedule lately, Mommy tends to get worn out and Ella knows it!

This week I heard these lines close to 20 times. Most of the time my response was, "Oh, don't worry I'll call Daddy and tell him myself!"

Daddy is her hero and like she tells us all the time "Daddy is my best friend." I sure hope she still thinks so in 10 years!

Beautiful Girls

I know I'm their mommy and I am biased, but I just think these girls are precious!

Letter H

H is for Hearts! We had another fun week with our friendly letter H. We used different colors Hearts to decorate an H, used popsicle sticks to build a House and then made a few "H"s with the extra, used our Hands to paint, did our "H" collage, made a hat (the one Ella is wearing), danced the Hokey Pokey and played with our new Hula Hoop! To top it all off we headed to Houston for Easter!

Ella's "He Is Risen" Party

Ella's Mothers Day Out class had their "He is Risen" party today to celebrate Easter with the kids. The kids always love parties mainly because they always get some kind of sweet treat! For the party, each kid got to make a sticker scene of the empty tomb, the cross, Jesus, and some other items. We played "Pin the Flower on the Cross" ( you can get a glimpse of it in the background). At the end, we let the kids decorate cookies with icing, jelly beans and sprinkles. After four parties this year, we have found out that each kid needs their own bowl of icing and their own knife to spread it. Reason being--they spend most of the time licking the plastic knives and sticking them back in the bowls! We had a great time! Here's a pic of Ella with a few of her buddies -- Hudson is one of her favorites because she sees him at school and church.


Audrey loves to go to the parties too. This pic was taken right before she leaned over and tried to grab Micah's cookie. He was not a happy camper about that!

We LOVE Blackberries!

Both my girls LOVE berries--strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and especially blackberries! Though I am thrilled they love fruit and will enjoy a berry at any time, they make such a mess and require an immediate undressing and spot treatment on the clothes. Most of the time I end up just undressing Audrey before she gets to eat them. This picture was taken after Audrey had devoured 11 blackberries. Yes, we are going through a container of blackberries a day right now! She had a tinge of deep purple all over her face, arms and hand, but isn't she just so cute anyway!!

Easter Egg Hunt

We've been practicing for over a month at our house hunting all the little plastic eggs. That being said, the girls were ready to go when we got to enjoy a real Easter Egg hunt at our friends' house. Ella did most of the hunting and Audrey was in charge of opening up the eggs to see what the surprise was! It was a gorgeous day for the hunt and we had so much fun catching up with friends!

Audrey trying to crack it open.

Ella finding the pink egg (of course, it has to be pink or purple).


The girls going through their buckets!