We love our circle time!

If your kids go to daycare or school, I am sure they have told you about a time called "Circle Time."  This is the time when all the kids come sit in a circle and they learn together.  Often times it is used for reading books, discussing the happenings of the day, games, songs, etc. 

Once Izzie was old enough to sit for a few minutes and engage in circle time, I have tried to fit it in each day with the little girls.  They just love it!  Even though Izzie is so busy, often times she sits for this entire time.  It is the best thing when I say, "It's time for cirle time", and they come running, cheering and clapping!

Here are a few of the things that we do during our circle time:

(Note: This only takes about 5 to 10 minutes.  Sometimes we do all and sometimes we just do a few.)

Songs

• Twinkle Twinkle little star (with actions)
• Itsy Bitsy Spider (with actions)
• Ring around the Rosey (their favorite)
• I'm a little tea pot (with actions)
• Bumble Bee song (lyrics  - I'm holding on to baby bumble bee, won't my mommy be so proud of me)
• Pat-a-Cake
• If you're happy and you know it
• Row, Row, Row your boat
• Days of the week song (Thanks Beelers - it is Olivia's new favorite)

Others

• ABC's
• Counting
• Go through all the main body parts
• Dancing
• Flash Cards (shapes, colors, etc.)
• Reading books

I love these few precious minutes with the little girls. Lately we have been doing it at night too because the big kids want to play.  Even though they know it all, they love to just sit down and have that concentrated time with me and their little sisters.

If anyone has any ideas to share, please let me know.

Shoe organizer, not just for shoes anymore

Whether you have no kids or many, there are always things that can be organized.  Last year I was overwhelmed with all the hats/mittens combinations, so this year I used our extra show organizer for a hats/mittens organizer.  Each row is designated to a child.  The 3 lowest rows are low enough for Ethan and Avery to get their own hats/mittens and of course put them back too! (which helps me out).  I really like this particular one because it is see through, so you can see all of the contents of each compartment.

I also use these to organize scrapbook stuff, shoes and toys.  I actually need to buy a few more.  I have seen them used in nurserys too to organize all the stuff you need for a new baby.  Depending on what kind of pantry door you have, they would work great in that area as well to organize plastic utensils, napkins, paper plates, etc.

Can't find anything to wear?

I often find myself going through my closet and saying to myself, "I have nothing to wear!" And believe me. I have plenty to wear.  I know I have a LOT of clothes.  However, sometimes I need help putting things together. 

Each season I buy a few magazine showcasing the latest trends and go through them.  When I come across an outfit I like on a page, I tear it out and then insert it into a plastic sheet protector and add it to a three ring binder.  Whenever I don't think I have anything to wear, I pull out my 3 ring binder of ideas and go through my closet.  If you don't have exactly the same items, most times you can get pretty close or just use the idea but choose different colors.

I also use this to make a list of items that I would like to purchase.  Often times you don't need a whole new wardrobe to update your look, you just need a few accessories. 

While I go through my idea book, I go through my closet and put the outfits together and then hang them together in my closet.  Next time I am going somewhere that I want to wear one of my outfits, it is all there and I don't even have to think about it. 

If you don't subscribe to magazines, you can copy and paste images of outfits from your favorite websites and paste them into a word document and then print the pages out and add them to your idea book. 

Here are a few sites I use to get the latest outfit ideas to add to my book:
http://www.thelimited.com/
http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/
http://www.gap.com/
http://www.jcrew.com/index.jsp

The Daily Plate - great website!

If you are looking for a good website to track what you eat,  excercise, water intake, etc.  The Daily Plate is great, and it is FREE!! 

http://dailyplate.modernmom.com/

 I use the daily plate through the modernmom.com website because I like to view both.  The Daily Plate is powered by Livestrong.com so you can also get to it that way.  It is a great way to track everything.  It shows the breakdown of fat, carbs and protein of the food you consume.  You can save meals and excerise to make it even easier to track what you eat and do.  It also has charting capability that you can export to manipulate how you wish.  I have to admit, it was a little overwhelming at first, but once I had a bunch of my food entered it was so easy.  There has yet to be a food that I can't find the values for when I search for it.  They even have all the generic brands from Target and Wal-mart.

Whether you are looking to lose a few pounds or stay where you're at, it is a nice tool!  You set your goal and they guide you from there.

The http://www.modernmom.com/ website is great too.  There are a lot of great tips for just about any aspect in your life.  Often times there are mini workout videos which I have tried and are great!

Pizza for Breakfast?

Well, not exactly.  Egg pizza though.  The girls have been loving eggs lately but it gets so messy and they can't seem keep it on their fork or spoon.  So, this morning as I was going to make myself an egg wrap, I decided to forgo the tortilla and just keep it as an egg patty (kind of).  Once I had it on the plate, I decided to cut it up. I cut it into triangles like a pizza and it worked wonderfully.  Izzie and Olivia could eat it as finger food now.  No more falling off the fork, no more eggs on my floor.  It was a win/win for all of us.  I now have a new breakfast favorite for me and for them!

This is how I made it:

• 2 eggs mixed together in a bowl with salt and pepper
• Fry in a small pan (spray pan with Pam or something so it doesn't stick)
• When the eggs are almost done I topped them with bacon bits and cheese
• Slide onto a plate, cut and serve

**You could also add onions, green peppers, tomatoes, etc.

I have attached some pictures of the girls' haircuts last week, 2 pony tail day (which we had today and they made mom participate in) and Ethan playing hockey.

Izzie getting her cute new bob!

Olivia getting her hair cut - she didn't like it too much

Me and the girls today with our 2 ponies - they thought it was such a great idea!

Ethan is # 26