Splat! KIDS

Focus on the Positive

2010-10-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

Now that school is back in full time I found it has become stressful yet again for Mr. A-Man. A is not a fan of schoolwork. He entered Grade 2 this year and is already beginning to struggle. We knew he would be going into the year. A doesn't like to read. He has alot of difficulty and while he is getting some help to improve his reading and writing skills, it's a long stressful road for him (and for us trying to help him!). I think the hard part for me honestly is not comparing him to his older brother. L is a reader, he loves reading, he loves school, he doesn't mind homework. So when A got to school I'll be honest I was hoping for a similar response from him.
That did not happen. A fights over homework, consistently says "I can't" without even trying and entering Grade 1 last year was already way behind on his reading/writing skills. He had a great teacher though and he made tremendous improvements last year, and again this year is on the right track.

I think I need to remember this. Because A is smart. He is creative and funny. His strengths come when working with his hands, drawing or painting, building and playing. He is an artist.

I need to remember that and that's what this post is about. A can create beautiful things from just about any scrap laying around the house, any bit of sand or rocks or sticks outside. And while yes we will continue to work on his reading/writing skills I believe I need to re-focus on the positive things he is good at. I believe that by doing this I will enforce that he can do it, it being anything he wants, even reading/writing. By focusing on the positives that he can do I will foster a love of himself and not be so inclined to compare between the children. So enjoy his sandcastle creation that I was in awe of in the summer while we were at the beach. A is 7 and the time and detail he put into creating this castle was something that amazes me.

A view from the top:

A working on his creation:

The finished product: He placed each shell individually:

She's a Barbie Girl!

2010-10-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

I actually had a day off from work today so I did what any mom of a girl does. Spent the afternoon playing barbies. Since C was sleeping Kenz and I had the afternoon to go nuts and brought out ALL the Barbie gear. It was then that it hit me how lucky our little princess is! This girl has so much Barbie gear, and I admit some of it was mine (even my mom's) when I was a kid, and some she got from one of our neighbours, some came from my SIL but look how much she has. You can tell K is a very girly girl too since the first thing that she did was set up a shoe/accessory store and a clothing shore. The second thing she demanded we do was set up a barbie hair salon because they're hair was "oh my gosh! so messy!" lol

These are K's 2 favourite Barbies: Merliah and Flower Rose (she came up with the second name):

The clothing store we set up, there are a lot of old clothes in here, some from the 60's that were my mom's:

The clothing and shoe/accessory store:

The accessories:

Another shot of the accessories:

Combs and Brushes:

And I had to share this piece, ah yes, this was mine, sadly the doll is long gone, but we did save the hat all these years:

Makenzie and all of her dolls:

Assorted Candy Apples

2010-09-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

I may have mentionned in my previous post that last night I made yummy caramel apples. I got the idea to do this on Saturday when visiting a good friend who shared some pics of the apples she had done up for her family. I thought my kids would go bonkers for these - um yeah, pure sugar, what kid wouldn't? Since I didn't have any caramel at home I decided to go ahead and make my own. I googled caramel apples and came up with this recipe (unfortunately I can't find the site again!):

makes 6-8 apples

1.5 cups of brown sugar

1.5 tbsp of butter

6 tbsp milk, cream, or water (I used milk)

0.5 tsp vanilla

Put everything in a pot and boil until 236 degree F (I guessed, I don't have a candy thermometer) When ready pour very quickly over apples (before it solidifies) there are a variety of ways to do this, you can put them in a pan and literally pour it on top and then insert your popsicle sticks, you can put the stick in first and dip the apple in the caramel spooning on top, find a way that works for you, just remember the caramel sets within about 2 minutes.

Now I'm going to be honest, I don't like caramel apples so I melted some chocolate chips in the microwave and dipped a couple apples in straight chocolate (so healthy I know!).

After all the apples were coated I placed them on a cookie tray on a sheet of waxed paper and drizzled melted chocolate and/or melted peanut butter over the tops depending on preference. ex: my daughter wanted a plain chocolate covered apple - no drizzles, my son wanted a caramel coated apple drizzled with both peanut butter and chocolate. I did mine coated in chocolate with peanut butter drizzle. This is a good place for the kids to help out. Melt the chocolate and/or peanut butter in the microwave and pour into piping bags, let the kids go nuts. You can also roll them in sprinkles, peanuts, marshmellows, small candies, anything at this point. Enjoy!

Do as I say, not as I do

2010-09-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

I love to bake. With 4 kids and a full time job I don't always have a lot of time to enjoy baking but I do tend to squeeze in a little more once the temperature drops and fall begins.

I remember baking alot as a kid. My grandma taught me everything I know, and as a child I spent hours by her side making cookies, pies, squares. It was always one of my favourite things to do. One lesson my grandma taught me and I have passed on to my children is never eat the cookie dough. It's not cooked, contains raw eggs and just shouldn't be eaten. I usually (try to) enforce it with my kids. Don't get me wrong. A quick lick of the spoon, or a swipe of the bowl is usually ok, but no way would I ever let my kids eat spoonfuls of raw dough.

The thing is... I love the taste of oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough! So tonight when I got the itch to make something, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were at the top of my list. After supper I gathered all of my ingredients and (after making chocolate/caramel apples!) began mixing and baking. As my wonderful husband began the task of getting all 4 kids ready for bed I heard the inevitable whining about not getting to lick the bowl. Don't worry I tell them. You can have cookies in your lunch tomorrow.

After the kids are tucked soundly in bed I flop down into a kitchen chair, pull the bowl of cookie dough up to me and using a spoon ate the patch of cookie dough I had left specifically for this purpose. As I see my daughter poke her head in the kitchen entrance, I realise I'm caught red-handed, doing the thing I am constantly telling them not to. As she begins to speak I answer, only mommy's aloud to do this. Now go to bed.

As a kid I hated this saying but I felt it was very appropriate tonight - Do as I say, not as I do.

First weeks of school

2010-09-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

It seems like just yesterday I was holding my very first baby in my arms, looking into his face with amazement and wonder. Wondering what I'm doing, if I'll do it right, and how I'll know. Two weeks ago now my oldest "baby" started Grade 4, my second oldest "baby" started Grade 2, and my only princess started Junior Kindergarten. I have only one "baby" left at home with us now and he's really not much of a baby... in fact he turns 2 next week!

Some days it still amazes me that I have made it this far, all of the odds were against us having our kids at such a young age. I still think to myself on occasion 'what are you doing?' and I often question if I'm doing an okay job at this whole parenting thing. That's when I look at my kids, I mean truly look at them. I see the amazing people I have helped to create, direct, and shape.

It's true that my babies aren't babies anymore, they are quickly transforming into something amazing - responsible, respectable, fun-loving, good-natured people.

So although I admit it, I cried after sending them off on their first days of school again this year, it was (and usually is) an amazing mix of emotions including sadness that they are growing up, happiness that they are growing up, fear of the unknown, pride in who they are as people, respect for the people they are changing into, and most of all love, because no matter what happens in our lives, I will always love them.

Sewing Practice

2010-09-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

Since I got my sewing machine a year ago, I must admit I haven't done much with it. Space is an issue in our house so it's difficult to start projects that require more than a few minutes. Here is my latest adventure. I felt like sewing today so I set up my sewing area and Miss Kenz came in and demanded to "make me something" so I did. The straps on the bag are spaced a little too far apart but overall I'm impressed with how my sewing is coming along.

Changing Things Up

2010-06-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

Since I started this blog with the intent of it being primarily about my kids and family I thought I'd continue that theme when I decided to change things up. But instead of just being about the kids, I want to talk about all different aspects of life. Since I'm not particularly talented in one area over another and since no one currently even follows my blog, I thought why not make it more of a journey through my life (and my family's!).
So welcome to the new Mama Bear's Blog where I will probably ramble on at times, and then disappear for periods. I enjoy blogging and although I don't always have the time to blog what I want when I want it is one of my goals this year to do a bit more than last year.
I hope you enjoy the new Mama Bear's Blog, stay tuned for changes and more posts!

Sewing Project #2

2010-05-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been such a long time since I last posted to this blog! Hopefully in the coming weeks I'll get to be more regular at posting here :)

Back in September my mom and dad bought me a new (my first!) sewing machine for my birthday! Man I was so excited! A couple days later I made Kenz a pillowcase dress just as a first project. Well things have gotten hectic around here so I didn't really do much aside from basic mending until now. Tonight I just had the urge to take out my machine and create. Somewhere online I found the instructions for this cute little girl's skirt so I thought let's try it!

I went to set up my equipment and see what fabrics I could find and when I came back to the computer one of my wonderful kids had shut down the computer. So unfortunately I don't have credit for this skirt idea but hopefully I'll find it again. This was super easy to make, especially for me who is BRAND SPANKING NEW to sewing. I'm still trying to sew in a straight line so sewing this skirt was awesome practice, and yes I realise it's not perfect but hey, the only way to get good is keep trying :)

After I was all done the skirt I decided to keep going. Kenz has this Groovy Girls doll that the clothes went missing for one day. So I saw it sitting there and thought why not give it a whirl. Here is what I came up with. I think she is gonna LOVE having her doll match her!

Last but not least you may have noticed by the skirt the little flower hairclip. Aren't these the cutest things? I made a few in a pink fabric a few months back that I thought were so cute so why not make a flower clip to match her skirt and doll?

Anyways, that's it for tonight, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to actually get pictures of Kenz wearing the skirt and clip and holding the doll. What do you think? Not bad for a second real project I think!

Kid's Day at Queen's Park

2009-08-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we did a family fieldtrip that was both fun and educational. We live in Ontario and the Ontario Legislative Assembly (Queen's Park) Public Relations department put on a kids in the park day for kids aged 6-12 I think. Kenz was allowed to participate but it was a little old for her.

The day started with an indoor tour, upstairs in the Chamber where laws are made, debates are held etc... we even had our own parents vs children debate on whether brushing teeth should be made illegal. The parents won. 3 of the children got to dress up like the clerk, the speaker, and the sergeant at arms. In the first pic my guys are circled.After the indoor tour, we went outside for some games. The first the kids were timed at dressing like the sergeant at arms and had to run around the garden. Here's L:Shaun helping A with the dress up game:The next game was pin the tab on the Speaker, Kenz:A:L:This was during the scavenger hunt, this is the statue of Queen Victoria:The boys getting stamps in their passports to say they completed the different outside events:Inside the kids all decorated flower pots and planted a sapling of the white pine tree, Ontario's provincial tree: The end of the tour ended at the main staircase with the kids posing for pictures. They all got activity packs and a certificate to take home as well:
Overall it was a really fun and educational day. The kids learned alot about the Ontario goverment and it's history. Now we have three saplings that we can plant sometime next year. I would highly recommend contacting local parliament buildings to see if they do some sort of children's day, definitely worth going to downtown Toronto for the day!

Speaking of Clothes...

2009-08-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

I really want to learn how to sew so I can make my own children's clothes (mainly girls stuff, but some boys stuff too!) Anybody have any suggestions? I don't own a sewing machine although my birthday is in September, it may be a good time to start bugging DH about getting one.
I'm pretty artistic so I think I'll be quick to pick up on sewing but I'm a little nervous. hmmm... this is something to seriously think about on my part.

MOO!

2009-08-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

MOO! Does anyone find that shopping for girls clothing is usually waaaayyy more fun than shopping for boys? I mean for boys the styles basically stay the same, but girls always seem to have so many options.
Today I was looking around Walmart and this outfit for my SON C popped out at me and it was so cute that I just really couldn't resist buying it. Isn't this just so adorable? And different than the usual boys clothing!
My little cow: And in black and white!

I didn't take pictures of them but this was a 5 piece set... pants, top, hat, bib, and sleeper. It's also a great deal at only $18/set!

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-06-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was A-Man's kindergarten graduation. I can now officially say that he will be in grade 1 in the fall with big brother L who will be in grade 3! Time really does fly by!
Anyways, yesterday at the school they had a little ceremony where the kids sang songs and got their diplomas. It was adorable, unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures but here are a couple that I did get.
Here is A announcing a song that they sang (he's on the right):

Getting his diploma from his teacher:

Showing off his diploma to me in front of the blackboard... isn't he cute!

First Post

2009-06-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

So this is the first post of my brand new blog.
This blog is going to be dedicated to all 4 of my kiddos and the cute and funny things that they do/say.
My kids are the most important thing in the world to me and they amaze me everyday so I'm hoping to share some of the joy that they bring to me with everyone I know! I hope that anyone who happens to read my blog enjoys them too!