girlymama

great gift ideas for the start of summer

My mom has a shop on etsy now called Popham Lane, that I've been meaning to tell you about. But now I just HAVE to, because look what she has added:
Personalized Beach Towels! 
 
You choose the towel color and type of fabric (flowers, ballerinas, puppies...) and for only $15, you have a totally unique gift! Wouldn't these be great for camp or swim lessons?

And - if you're looking for teacher gifts, she has fabric lunch bags - for eco-minded teachers - and check out these cute, cute aprons for $15:
 

And, if you think my quilts are nice, you should see hers. If you're looking for a baby gift or a wedding gift, she's your girl! How beautiful is this quilt?
 

inspiration - 5.31

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need

Hebrews 4:16

it is a truth universally acknowledged...

...that brownies eaten one inch at a time do not count.

 

notes to my children

Dear Colin,
Please stop throwing your sippy cups. The walls of both the house and the van are covered in milk splatters. Also, your plate is not a hat.
Thank you!
Love,
Mama

Dear Gracie,
If you wouldn't mind, please turn the drama down a few notches. Don't turn it off - then you wouldn't be Gracie. But a little less would be wonderful. For example, remember today when Mama sarcastically said "Oh, Grace, your life is just soooo hard," you then sighed heavily and said "I know." Because you had to wait two minutes for Mama to help you with something.
Seriously, girl, you have no idea how good you have it.
Less drama. Trust me - it will help you survive the summer.
Love,
Mommy

Dear Ellie,
Please stop purposely making your sister crazy just to amuse yourself. There must be something you can do - perhaps reading one of your hundreds of books? Or playing with one of your zillions of toys? Or going outside or coloring? Really, there must be SOMETHING you can do that is more entertaining than driving your sister nuts.
Please. Consider it a favor to me.
Love,
Mom

story fort digital childrens books

The nice folks at Story Fort contacted me recently to see if I would be interested in looking at their newest addition to their line of interactive digital books for kids.  Since my kids love books of all kinds and are always asking to play computer - which I'm often conflicted about - a digital book seemed like a great match for us!
We read "What is Bothering Carl?",($15) about a cyclops named Carl whose laid back life is disrupted by a single nuisance. We get to follow along as Carl tries to solve his problem.

Here's that they say about it:

• Story Fort was founded by Andy Hull, a former toy designer at Melissa and Doug.
• Specializing in interactive digital books for kids ages 3+, Story Fort features books designed to engage young readers' imaginations and encourage their sense of learning.
• Books feature a full (optional) audio narration by the author, as well as highlighted phrases to help your child read along and illustrated keywords to build vocabulary.
• Two original songs with animated music videos and a bonus memory game with 3 difficulty levels.

What we say about it:

I was concerned when I got the book and realized it was about a monster. With two little girls, we live in a pink princess land over here, so I wasn't sure that my girls would even be remotely interested in a book about a cyclops. But, they LOVED it.
They read it three or four times, then wanted to play the memory game and watch the music videos. They were both singing along with the music and Ellie - who is 6 - was reading along with the narration. I had to force them to stop playing and go to bed! My kids' only complaint was that there wasn't more. They said they wished there was another story and more games to play.
We've had it on our computer for a few weeks and they have been asking to play "What is Bothering Carl?" more than any other game that we have. (They're even asking for that instead of nickjr.com!)

As a mom, I thought this was a great product. My kids are both learning to read right now, so I'm always on the lookout for products that will help them build vocabulary and practice reading. This is NOT a mindless computer game! Plus, the instructions were so clear, the girls needed no help from me to read the book or play the games, which was wonderful. Some other "preschool" computer games we've tried were much too complicated and left the girls (and mommy) annoyed and frustrated. This is perfectly age appropiate. And it was so cute!  Look at this screen shot:
 
It is bright, colorful and FUN. I highly recommend this if you have a preschooler and are looking for learning tools or computer activities. As a former preschool teacher, I would have loved to have this in my classroom at the computer station!! (This would be great to add to your summer bridge activities!) I'm really looking forward to Story Fort's next book!

You can purchase "What is Bothering Carl?" at www.storyfort.com

wordless wednesday: self portrait

This week I learned... just how much water is in a watermelon.

So on Friday, we got a watermelon from the grocery store. YUM! We were so excited. Ellie's very, very favorite food is watermelon! After dinner, I went to cut it up. I put it on the cutting board, got out my huge knife and cut into it.

Kaaa-POW!!!!

Water squirted everywhere. EVERYWHERE. It was like a water-bomb went off. There was water all over the cabinets, the walls, the counters, the floor, ME, inside the cabinets... EVERYWHERE.
You think I'm exaggerating? I had to change my underwear. That is how much water squirted all over me.

Once the water stopped, I was able to cut the watermelon open - it was totally rotten.

Then, I had to wash my floors, counters, and cabinets FIVE TIMES before they stopped being sticky.

Did I mention that our house is on the market and needs to be clean, like, all the time?

So the lesson is: whenever possible, cut watermelon outside.

as you may have noticed...

its been a l-o-n-g week here in the Girlymama household. A LONG week.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon crying. Not just little tears escaping... more like sobbing. It was a little ridiculous. My poor husband had to leave a meeting to take a phone call from a hysterical wife who had just gotten to the soccer field only to realize that she had forgotten Ellie's shoes. Its just been one of those days weeks.

My husband, who has been out-of-town since Saturday gets home tonight. And he has the next four days off. My MIL arrived from India last night. My husband's aunt is arriving tomorrow afternoon for the weekend. All this while we're selling the house. (Did I mention we have a showing in an hour? They just called. ACK!)

All this to say, I need to take this weekend off. If something hilarious happens, I may come share it with you. But I won't be stressing out about not posting. I need to spend some time with my husband and family and enjoy them. And stop with the hysterical crying.

...and then i warned husband that there may not still be three children here when he gets home

Colin is teething.
Monday, I felt 95% poor baby, 5% annoyed. Today, I feel 10% poor baby, 90% annoyed.
Cry, cry, cry. Whine, whine, whine. Grump, grump, grump.  Scream, scream, scream. He has been an absolute BEAR since Monday... he is driving me NUTS. Every single symptom of teething... he has it. Gah. What happened to my sweet little guy?

**********

Monday, the girls were supposed to be having "quiet time" in their room. Instead, they emptied everything out of their closet, put all of their bedding in the closet and broke the closet doors. Annoying, irritating, but not a huge deal.
Tuesday, Gracie came downstairs while they were supposed to be having "quiet time" in their room HOLDING A PIECE OF THE WALL. They MADE A HOLE. IN THE WALL. Insert Mama's head exploding here.
Need I remind you that our house is on the market?
They are seriously lucky to be alive right now.

**********

Why won't they sleep? Why?

wordless wednesday: a rare peaceful moment between siblings