Meeting Recap 7 Jan

Today's meeting was a lifesaver for me!

Not only did Charlotte remind us that it's ok to have foreign substances in our hair, but Addie's mom/Cori's MIL Alice led us through how to play with our kids.

First of all, many thanks to Charlotte for her devotional today. Her prayers for our friends and loved ones was especially meaningful to me today, and I hope to all of you as well. Here are the verses she included:
Romans 12:2

Phil 4:8

Psalms 27: 4-8

As for playing with our kids, we learned a great deal about how to get them messy! And not to worry about it afterwards (that's the part I need to get better at!). After each table played with soap, cornstarch (yea for easy cleanup!), water, and an electric skillet, we all went home with recipes for disaster - OOPS! I mean "messy fun" :)

She also introduced us to several books that add a lot of fun and humor to the act of reading to our kids, and teach valuable lessons that we might otherwise be embarrassed to teach:
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Everyone Poops
The Gas We Pass
The Holes in Your Nose
The Soles of Your Feet
All About Scabs
Your Belly Button
The Paper Bag Princess

Bev Bos, one of Alice's child development mentors (or recipient of her self-proclaimed stalking!) has a website with lots more good information: www.bevbos.com

As the meeting was coming to a close, Alice threw some more ideas at us - using milk tops for magnets or bingo, using a flyswatter in a pan of bubble solution, and barefoot sensory walks with spaghetti, rice, beans, shaving cream, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Here are pictures of the fun we had!
Goop:

Rubbings:













Rubber Band Stamping:













Rainbow Stew in the Electric Skillet:













Paint:


















Toothpaste:













Soap:













Water:













Books!













See you next time!
-Kim

Christmas is over, and I couldn't be happier.

Look, I love Christmas as much as the next girl. Actually, that's not completely true. I'm not much of a fan of the blow-up yard art (much to my husband's chagrin), or the kitchy decorations (much to my Mother-in-law's chagrin). But I like the idea of Christmas.

That being said, I'm so super glad Christmas is over. The stress, the negative balance in my bank account, the cookies that are just asking to be eaten, the feeling that I HAVE to keep my house clean so relatives don't think I live in squalor. It's all a little much.

So you can imagine my joy when I pushed loveingly shoved ushered JR out the door on Tuesday and strapped Claire into the carseat for the ride to school. I had the whole house to myself! Just me, and the piles of laundry, the wrapping paper that still hadn't made it out to the trashcan, the neverending dirty dishes in the sink (even though the dishwasher is dirty, OMG WHY can't you just LOOK to see if they're CLEAN or DIRTY before you just THROW THEM IN THE SINK?!?! Ahem. But I digress).

I had a few hours to myself. I could clean how I wanted. I could crank up Vampire Weekend and jam. I would get SO much done.

Yeah, or I could watch 4 hours of Hoarders (seriously. Have you seen this show? Totally addicting.) and walk around Walmart for an hour and half with a loaf a bread and Beauty and the Beast.

So I didn't get much done on my first day back. But you know what? I don't care. I was alone. Blissfully alone. And sometimes? That's better than being productive.

. . .

Don't forget our meeting tomorrow. This one's going to be good. My lovely, talented, crazy-for-blow-up lawn decorations Mother-in-law will be here to talk about how to play with your kids. I'm looking forward to it.

See everyone tomorrow! Happy New Year!

[cori]