Paperclip Tip

I am thoroughly enjoying doing art with Malachi these days. I recently got some tempera paint and got a chance to let Malachi and some of his friends enjoy sponge painting with it. I had some extra sponges that I cut up into shapes and thought we could have fun as well as review shape names since this was a group of toddlers.
As a last minute thought I grabbed some paperclips and pushed them through the sponge shapes so they had a handle of sorts in order to minimize the amount of paint on their fingers. It worked beautifully. Thought I would pass along my 'discovery'. Happy painting!!Malachi's artwork. There were plenty of other shapes, he just really like the rectangle;).

Favorite Parenting Advice

I must admit, God has blessed us with two fabulous kids. Malachi is now 2 years (and 5 months) and Zoe is just over 5 months. Having two has not been as difficult as I imagined or was told but I think the majority of that is due to God's grace. But in the anticipation of having Zoe I received a piece of advice from my cousin (thanks Autumn) that has been helpful:

"Don't be afraid to put down the baby in order to follow through with disciplining the toddler."
(paraphrased, but you get the idea)

Malachi is an intelligent, funny, sweet and helpful boy but he still is human (and a toddler) and is therefore not without a sinful nature. He wants to push the limits and boundaries and see what he can get away with. And following this advice helps him to see that he cannot just do whatever he pleases while I am breastfeeding or whatever, cause I WILL stop and deal with his disobedience to put him in time out, take something away, etc.

Being a second born, I am very concerned about giving Zoe what Malachi had...being fair, if you will. But I realize it is much better for ALL of us if I can be consistent in disciplining, Zoe will not be traumatized if she has to wait for the boob while I do what needs to be done. In fact, it models to her at an early age that some things can wait and that mommy is serious about her and her brother's soul formation.

All this to say...I work on this every day and am not anywhere near perfect at it. Find out about more Favorite Parenting Advice at withpurpose, or add your own to the list.

Oh, the joy and laughter they bring...

We visited Kurtis' mom today. She suffered a stroke in June, following heart surgery, and is in rehab working hard to regain the use of her left side. The place she is at is fabulous and they have a large yard in the back where we were able to lay out a blanket, thanks to Kurtis' aunt who was there as well as was his dad, under a tree and relax.
I think the best part for mom, and the rest of us, was being able to watch the kids enjoy themselves. Both having fun with where they are at right now. What a great picture of contentment.

Malachi enjoyed running around shirtless and drank a cold Gatorade, hence the blue mustache. Zoe enjoyed sitting and 'crawling' around on the blanket finding her toys, or her brother's sippy cup, to chew on.

We noticed a tiny snail on the blanket that captured Malachi's attention for a short bit, then he went back to running around.

Things I Love Thursday

So, my fabulous sister is hosting a new meme called,
"Things I Love Thursday,"
(which I guess will turn into "Friday Favorites" next week)
on her inspiring, entertaining and resourceful website, withpurpose.
This week she is asking all to post about their favorite children's book.
The task of choosing one sparked up the cheesy poet in me:

So many 'favourites'
So difficult to choose
I will pick one author
AND her book, Koala Lou!

Mem Fox, an Australian author, writes a beautiful story about an adorable animal.
"There was once a baby koala so soft and round that all who saw her loved her.
Her name was Koala Lou."
The story tells of how Koala Lou trains for and enters the gum tree climbing event in the Bush Olympics in order to get the attention of her mom who is now busy with taking car of her little brothers and sisters.

Read more about the book and the story behind the story here.
Click here to listen to the book read aloud by it's author.
I can't forget to mention that
I also love the detail in the illustrations.
Pamela Lofts is an amazing artist.

As a side note, I think this would be a great gift
to give to a child that is expecting a new little brother or sister.
A special book to remind them they are loved,
and remind mom to say those words, "I DO love you!" often.

paper shredder AND babysitter

i whipped out the scissors today to let malachi give it a try...i think i discovered a good thing. he can shred the pile of papers i've been meaning to get to AND it will take so long and he will be so engrossed in it that i can get some other more important stuff done ;) (just kidding).

he did thoroughly enjoy learning how to cut but i will keep them tucked away for use only when i'm around, otherwise we might end up with some unplanned haircuts. :)

Canvas City

check out this awesome idea for kids that love playing with cars. malachi is very much into collecting the cars from the movie cars and i think this would be an awesome gift! maybe i'd be able to finish one by christmas?!! i know there are a few of you out there that have children also infatuated with cars, thought you might like the idea as well. inexpensive, packs away nicely and encourages creative play!

a new find

for those of you that live near the lakewood mall, have you visited the 'one dollar bookstore' that just opened up in march, located near joann's? i just went today to check it out and was pretty excited about the find. i am always on the lookout for inexpensive children's books cause even though we enjoy borrowing books from the library i think it's vital for kids to have books they can read again and again and again...without the worry of renewing. :)

ALL the books in the store are $1! they are not in top notch condition necessarily and you do need to sift through them since they are not displayed in a terribly organized fashion but for a buck i think it's worth it. they are displayed on shelves along the walls but they are not alphabetized by author or anything.

i took both kids with me this time but i think next time i'll leave them at home with papa so i can really enjoy searching. ever since i visited my parents in texas and was introduced to half price books i have been searching for something like here. i think this is the closest thing!