Pause Life for a Moment- a belle, a bean and a chicago dog

Liz of a belle, a bean, and a chicago dog is amazing blogger. She understands social media, loves to collaborate with and support other bloggers, and runs several communities and a media consulting firm. What I love best about her is way she loves her husband and her girls. I have never seen them together in person, but the pictures she has draw about them with her words display her love over and over again.  

In the Final Moments of the Day

To say our children are only small for a moment may sound so trite but it's oh so true. Those first couple years are filled with pounds gained, inches grown and milestones reached, and then without notice, we are left with a blossoming preschooler, often too independent for mom.


My oldest, Kate, was never a cuddler. As soon as she could sit up on her own, she wanted to be free to do and see what she pleased. My second chance at stealing those sweet snuggly moments was with Madelyn, and - colic aside - she's come through for me with some sweet nuzzles here and there.

My favorite time of the day is bedtime. And not just because that means I can consider myself "off duty." We have a long-standing bedtime routine in our house, and cozying up in the glider in Maddie's room, singing songs and telling stories, is how we end our days.
Unfortunately, the countdown to age 3 is on for Maddie, which means those precious, End-of-the-Day moments are limited. It saddens me on the nights she asks to sit next to me on the glider instead of on my lap. Or when she tries to cuddle up against my chest but can't quite get comfortable because she's grown too tall.
I often wonder how soon our treasured bedtime routine will come to an end.

But for now, I'm enjoying each evening as it comes. I've recently added an additional song to our routine, and may or may not frequently ask her if she wants to rock for a bit longer even though her songs and stories are done. Then I rest my head on the cushioned chair back and take in that extra time with my baby, peacefully swaying back and forth.



Please stop by a belle, a bean, and a chicago dog and tell her about your own special sleepy time moments.

I can’t wait until the end of June when I can meet her in person at the Type A Parent Conference.

 

Muffin Tin Monday- A Visit to the Chinese Market

 

Chicken stir fry, mango gelatin, rice cookies, and tropical fruit



We are so blessed to live in a community with many cultures. I thought it would be fun to take JDaniel to explore a Chinese market in Greenville. He had a wonderful time taking in all that the market had in store. Some of the things he selected to try were things I couldn’t identify. I tried to guide him towards things I knew he might eat.

What did we get? We purchased rice cookies with transportation vehicles on them, noodles, and a mango flavored gelatin.

Making the gelatin was a lot of fun. JDaniel loved getting to stir the mixture after I added milk to it. I have never had gelatin with milk, but that is what the directions instructed us to add. JDaniel loved it. He asked for it over and over again. Due to the fact that it made tons of gelatin he was able to have it over and over again.


The noodles were added to stir fried veggies and chicken. He inhaled all of it and asked for more.

The cookies were another big hit. It was fun to see what type of car or truck would come out of the box. My husband and I enjoyed them too.



I think we will be going back to get more of everything.  We may even try some of the things I couldn’t identify next time.

What do you think we should get on our next trip to the Chinese market?

  This post is linked to Muffin Tin Monday. 

Veggie Tales Live! Sing Yourself Silly Review and Giveaway (2 winners)

Who won’t love singing vegetables? JDaniel didn’t love them in costumes. He looked at me after a few minutes of enjoying Veggie Tales Live: Sing Yourself Silly and said, “This is not real. The vegetables are not real.”

Well, of course they aren’t real. They are people in costumes dancing across a stage to fun songs while movie clip run in the background.

What got me was that he loved the humor between the vegetables and the humans in the show along with the songs, but it wasn’t animated and so it wasn’t real.

Veggie Tales Live: Sing Yourself Silly really is fun if you can get past the fact that they vegetables aren’t real. The show starts with a well organized show being presented on stage to an audience of cheering children. As it unfolds the various stars of show have different opinions about what songs should come next.

Archibald Aspargus wants songs with meaning. Mr. Lunt wants food songs and others what songs from special decades. Each vegetable has to learn to share their opinions and take turns picking a song.

If your children love the Veggie Tales characters, they will really enjoy this DVD. It is real fun and has  18 songs with great lesson in them.

I have been given two DVDs to share with my readers. If you would like one of them please do the following:

*Tell me your favorite Veggie Tales character. ( 1 entry)


For additional entries you can do any of the following:

*Leave a comment on any post. ( 2 entries per comment)



*Follow me or like me on Facebook. (3 entries for each)



*Tweet about this giveaway. ( 5 tweets per day with 1 entry for each tweet.)



*Place my button on your blog or my blog on your blogroll. (3 entries for each)



*Stumble any non-giveaway post. ( 3 entries per Stumble)




This giveaway begins June 5th and ends June 19th. That is 8 ways to win. The winner will be selected randomly using Random.org. This giveaway is open to people with U.S. addresses.

Disclosure: I was given a copy of Veggie Tales Live! by Big Idea Entertainment and representing PR agency. All information and opinions in this post are my own.    

Joplin Missouri Tornado Fundraiser

When you see devastation in Joplin, MO on television, you may think as I do that you should do something. Then the news report goes to a commercial for a cleaning product and your mind turns its focus to the fact your kitchen floor sure looked dirty earlier in the day. All thoughts of doing something to help those affected in Joplin slip from your mind as you refocus on the tasks at hand.


What can you do?

A large donation was given yesterday by a group of bloggers to help those affected, but there is still time to donate to the cause as well as get reasonably priced advertising on wonderful blogs.

Bloggers for Joplin is a group of 25+ bloggers who have teamed up to help Joplin, Missouri.

We are accepting advertisers for the month of June with 100% of the proceeds going to help the people of Joplin, Missouri.

The following blogs are participating and accepting advertisers:


Sippy Cup Mom is accepting 6 spots at $25 each. (1 SPOT LEFT)

The Maven of Social Media is accepting 6 spots at $25 each.

Miracle Momas is accepting 2 spots at $35 each.

An Idol Heart is accepting 5 spots for $40 each.

Mommy PR is accepting 4 spots at $25 each. (ALL SPOTS FILLED)

Motherhood Unadorned is accepting 4 spots at $25 each. (ALL SPOTS FILLED)

Girl Gone Mom is accepting 5 spots at $25 each.

Crazy about My Baybah is accepting 6 spots at $25 each. (4 SPOTS LEFT)

{Not Quite} Susie Homemaker is accepting 3 spots at $25 each.

a belle, a bean & a chicago dog is accepting 2 spots at $25 each.

Family and Life in Las Vegas is accepting 6 spots at $25 each. (4 SPOTS LEFT)

Fun Finds For Families is accepting 6 spots at $25 each.

A Creation of Miracles is accepting 10 spots at $25 each. (Get the month of July free!)

Family Friendly Frugality is accepting 8 spots at $25 each. (ALL SPOTS FILLED)

The Reynolds Mom is accepting 4 spots at $25 each.

Sarah’s Deals is accepting $75 each for her 350×250 banner and her skyscraper. She is also accepting spots at $25 each.

2 Boys + 1 Girl= 1 Crazy Mom is accepting 8 spots for $30 or 4 spots for $30.

Taming Insanity is accepting 6 spots at $20 each. (ALL SPOTS FILLED)

Return to Disney is accepting 4 spots at $20 each.

JDaniel4's Mom is accepting 2 spots at $20 each. (1 left)

The Scoop on Poop is accepting 4 small spots at $15 each and 2 large spots for $50 each.

Three P’s in a Pod is accepting unlimited spots at $15 each.

Life Below Zero is accepting unlimited spots at $15 each.

YUMMummy is accepting unlimited spots at $15 each.

The Magic Farmouse is accepting 3 spots at $15 each. (She can design your ad for free if needed)

Kate n’ Kaboodle is accepting unlimited spots at $10 each.

See K Read is accepting 4 spots at $10 each.

My Crafty Life is accepting 2 spots at $10 each and is offering a top banner for $25.

StL Baseball App is accepting 4 spots at $10 each.

Mom-Blog is accepting 2 spots at $10 each.

The Turnip Farmer is accepting 6 spots at $10 each. She will also be matching each donation!

Night Owls Perch is accepting 10 spots at $10 each.

Shopaholic Mommy is offering 2 spaces at $10 each!

Purple Baby Brigade is accepting 10 spots at $10 each.

Meil et Lait is accepting 8 spots for $10 each (or $25 for three months). She has 6-125x125, 1-468x60 and 1-120x600 ads available.

Crazy and Cool with a Side of Crafty is accepting 4 spots for $5 each.

The Interuppting Cow is accepting 8 spots at $5 each and a banner at $25.



Tara of A Creation of Miracles is also looking to donate $300 for 3 families that are now homeless. These families work with her father. She is looking for $100 for each family.

You can visit her blog on more information and to donate to help these specific families!
http://marykay.com/sadielankford is donating 50% of her profits to help Joplin!


If we can all sell out all the sports that is over $2,000 raised for Joplin!

If you are are a blog or a business looking to advertise, please contact me via e-mail!



For specific questions about advertising on my blog, please email jdaniel4smom at aol dot com.


If you are a reader looking to donate ANY AMOUNT, you can click on the Bloggers for Joplin button above and it will take you to Paypal to make a donation.


If you are a blogger looking to join our cause, please let us know at bloggersforjoplin@gmail.com and we will get you added to the list!



Thank you so much and please spread the word!

 

Read.Explore.Learn.- Robots

Welcome to first week of the Read. Explore.Learn Summer Reading Challenge! This meme was designed to be a place for you to share the learning opportunities, crafts, field trips, and other activities you have done this week that tie-in to children’s books. I look forward to seeing ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

• Link your activity below.

• Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.
  
  
                                                        
  
  
  <center><a href="http://www.jdaniel4smom.com/"><img alt="Shibley Smiles" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-wYnCaxCjpQ/TIbl9KccMVI/AAAAAAAAB98/vjalStjjb-I/s1600/ReadExploreLearn.jpg" alt="jdaniel4smom" width="150" height="150" /></a></center>

• Please try to visit at  least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment and Stumble your post.

• If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.
• I would love a comment too.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:  






 Hello, Robot by Bob Staake is the tale of four robots. They each have chores they do around their house.


When they get caught in a rainstorm, each has trouble with their wiring. Blink, the robot that bakes tries to bake a birdhouse. Zinc, the robot that fixes things tries to repair a pie with a hammer. Blip, the robot that does yardwork tries to rake the windows. Zip, the robot that cleans shines the grass. As time goes on the problems get worse. The robots realize something has to be done. What can they do?


 They decide to switch heads and find that the switcheroo does the trick. They are able to go back to the jobs they love. JDaniel loved the mistakes they made after being in the rain. The mess and choas was right up his alley.



What did we do?


 Chalk Drawing






 I drew the outline of the robot and JDaniel added the details. What looks like bangs on the robot's head is really multiple eyes. I didn't see it at first, but JDaniel explained that the robot needed many eyes to see.




Playdough Robot Creation



JDaniel decided that a potato masher would make the best tool to smash the playdough.






 He used bottle caps to create a three eyed blue mouthed monster. Can you see it?

This post is linked to Feed Me Books Friday, Link and Learn,  We Play and It's Play Time.

It's in his genes

JDaniel is a happy mix of both my husband’s and my genes.

    This is a picture of my father in-law holding JDaniel who is looking at a picture of my husband.

JDaniel looks like his dad. When I look at pictures of this toddler years, my husband looks just like him. My husband looks just like his dad. I joke that I may not live to see JDaniel3 in his eighties, but I know what he will look like.

My husband prefers to read non-fiction books. I read all kinds of books. JDaniel loves to look at and be read books that are based in real things. Fairy tales are not his favorite. He loves books about construction equipment and robots right now. Although if you give him a good book with rhymes and rhythms in it. He will look at it over and over again repeating what he remembers from the book.

We all love to be outside. Our family does a lot of yard work and playing outside. JDaniel can’t get enough of it. We spend time inside during allergy season, but once that passes we are outside a lot.

We all like to put things together. JDaniel has unfortunately inherited my let’s try to put it together without a manual and then get frustrated when it doesn’t work out genes. Maybe he can learn from my husband how to read manuals.

JDaniel has inherited mixed up sleep and awake time genes. He has my husband’s night owl genes along with my early bird genes. I am still hoping the early bird and night owl genes will become recessive. If that happens, he may finally sleep ten hours straight. I have heard it is possible in the teen years for the sleep genes to change.

JDaniel has inherited my auditory learning genes. He talks through what he is learning and needs clarification of by talking about it all the time. It drives my husband crazy. It is like oral processing in stereo. JDaniel has things he is talking about and I have things to share too. Despite the fact I try to filter at least 70% of what I am thinking .There are times he has to seek refuge in the bonus room where JDaniel’s 90% of what he is thinking can be silenced for a few moments. ( JDaniel keeps the 10% of thought s related to trouble he is going to seek to himself)

We are amazed as we watch JDaniel growing older as to how much of who he is comes from his DNA. The same DNA he inherited from us. I laugh at the things that come from my husband and my husband laughs at what comes from me.

JDaniel is his own person, but he has a lot us in him.

What  genes did you pass to your children?

This post is link to Mrs. Matlock's Alphabe and Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

  



Go Ahead, and Make My Day By Sharing Your Favorite Movie Quote (You could win 10K!)

I have found the quote... "Go ahead and make my day"... from Dirty Harry flying through my mind lately. In the movie Harry doesn't mean it in a positive way. He is challenging someone to just try to do something.

In the case of JDaniel I want him to make my day by making good choices. He wants more and more independence in the choices he makes each day. His opinions dying to be heard and his ideas tested out. JDaniel wants so much to make good choices. (Most of the time)

There are times when the impulsivity that comes with being three leads to choices that he knows will lead to trouble, but they have to be tested out. There are also times mom needs to be tested to see if she will follow through

It is part of growing up to try out new ideas and think outside the box. I am just hoping and praying he will "go head, and make my day" a little easier, a little more fun, and a little bit of an adventure a few hours a day as he is growing and learning.

Redbox is celebrating summer family time with a great line up of family-friendly titles, awesome savings and two chances to win $10,000 as part of the Redbox Summer of Fun & Games Sweepstakes.*

4 Easy Ways to Enter:


1. Enter your email address at www.redbox.com/summer

2. Rent a movie or game at a redbox kiosk (and provide a valid email address at checkout)

3. Reserve a rental online at redbox.com

4. Text 'SUMMER' to 727272
Enter to win today!


This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Redbox. The opinions and text are all mine.

*Each item rented earns one entry, regardless of how long it is rented, up to three entries per day. Limit 3 entries per day, regardless of entry method. The sweepstakes begins May 27, 2011 at 12:00 a.m. CT and ends on August 1, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. CT. No purchase necessary. See official rules at http://bit.ly/redboxsummer.