Made my Monday

Monday was my first day back to work after 16 glorious days of vacation. And while mentally I was ready to go back to work, I wasn't ready to leave Pip. These last two weeks have been amazing, lots of quality time playing, swinging, dancing, painting, crafting, and reading. And I am honestly a little sad that no one will ask me to wear a tiara and princess jewels today. Pip was especially sweet yesterday morning. She helped me make coffee, we had cereal together, and watched Ocotonauts. I hugged her extra tight and was off, ahead of schedule I may add! 

What made my Monday is that I have a job that ends at 3:00PM. 

I am able to be home during daylight hours for snacks, afternoon walks, trips to the park, and the afternoon showing of Olivia on Nick Junior. Being a stay at home mother, even for just a few weeks,  is a wonderful privilege and going back to work today makes the time I had off even more special.

 While I made my breakfast smoothie and packed my lunch, Pip was busily preparing her own concoction in her play kitchen. She served the dogs felt orange slices, wooden cookies, and a rolling pin.

The Weekend Lens

Friday: a trip to the park, Piper's new friend Mr. Duck, a ride of the carousel, we made a rice box for indoor play when it's too cold for our beloved sandbox, two mile run, a fun delivery from amazon, and DATE NIGHT! Saturday: grocery shopping, chores, laundry, cooking for the week, I caught Pip reading, chicken caesar pitas for dinner, a short run, bathtub painting  

Sunday: an early morning wake-up call,  lesson planning, modern family on DVD, noshing lunch and dinner, old school DVD workout, Pip loving on baby Emma, laundry, laundry, laundry, her new fashion statement.

Moldable Cloud Dough

 We first saw cloud dough at the Please Touch Museum. It's soft like baby powder, moldable like play-doh, and has the coloring of sand. Pip was a big fan of molding, pouring and sculpting cloud dough this summer and when I found a tutorial on how to make it so we could play at home I was sold.

Ingredients:

7 cups of flour (almost a full bag), ours came from Walmart $1.67

1 cup of vegetable oil (another blogger said she has used olive oil and baby oil in the past and it has worked just fine)

Just pour the flour in your bin, add the oil, and have your helper mix until the oil has been combined with the flour. The flour should take on a tan color and be moldable or having the ability to stick/take shape.

Add small containers, spoons, race cars, or other tools that will help you little one pour, measure, and make shapes. I used the pots and pans from her kitchen set, plus my measuring cups.

Cloud dough occupied Pip for 45 minutes of constant play.

We made our cloud dough in a plastic storage bin with a snap on lid. I saved our cloud dough in the bin for use later this week. I'll let you know how it holds up.

Happy Playing!

Hello January!

If we are being honest, I need to tell you that I am terrible at keeping New Years Resolutions. The idea of sticking to something for a WHOLE year is daunting and overwhelming. I try to follow through and then a few months in I give up. In 2010 Mr. R. and I made a resolution not to make New Years Resolutions. Instead we opted to make monthly goals that would help us grow as a couple, save money, plan for the future. We decided to bring back the monthly goals in 2013. So with out further adieu, January 2013 goals.

• Cut out coffee creamer. It's incredibly delicious but also full of empty calories. 
• Complete the mile a day challenge. The goal is run daily, the run needs to be at least a mile.
• Turn off the computer at 9:00 PM

These goals are totally doable and not scary. I am actually 3 days into January and haven't missed the coffee creamer at all. Running is always good for me, I am less stressed I feel awesome about myself and while my legs are sore I am loving it so far. And I am back to reading! The computer ban is in full effect and my nightly reading is up 100%. 

So far so good with this resolution stuff. 

And as usual, I'll keep you posted.

Joy Filled Fridays

A quick recap of a few things that brought a smile to my face this week. 

#1-2: Pip's 1st gyro. We had them for dinner on New Year's Eve and I figured she would take a bit or two, she ate over half of mine! The girl has good taste.

3. Cake Batter Smoothies. All the taste of cake without the guilt.

4-5. New Year Kisses and photo props

6. Unbridled joy, flying high on the swings.

7-8. Piper's 1st Abstract. She calls this one Sophie.

9. Our first time taking her on the carousel. I think we loved it as much as she did. 

#1-3: Bathtub painting with Pip. Shaving cream and food coloring resulted in a mess free evening of finger painting. She loved it.
4. We made it to Barnes and Noble story time. The book Press Here was a HUGE hit and we will soon be adding it to our library.
5. Pimento grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. We ate them for lunch three days in a row.
6. We caught NPR's broadcast of the Capitol Steps.
7. Dunkin coffee makes me a better person.
8. Back to running, four run in four days! #mileadaychallenge
9. Organized my closet and paired down my clothes. It makes getting dressed SO much easier. 

One Little Word

REJOICE: 
to give joy, to gladden, to feel joy or great delight

I am a big fan of Ali Edwards. She is a fellow scrapbooker, but instead of only looking to big life events to scrapbook, Ali chooses to scrapbook the everyday. Her blog and tutorials feature day to day pictures of her activities and her children. What some of us may look to an unimportant details are the stories she chooses to feature. Ali has made me review my own photography and story telling and look for the stories that contain memories. From my blog you can see her influence in The Weekend Lens, our date nights, and the stories I share about Piper.

Each year Ali chooses a word for the year. And she incorporates that word into her storytelling and her everyday life. Last night at dinner we had a family discussion about our words for this year. We tossed around lots of options, but I am proud and excited to announce that my word will be REJOICE.

Since having Piper I have become a worrier and an even more crazy list maker. My brain is always going wondering about what might happen, what I need to do, and how I can prepare or plan for what might be on the horizon. Sometimes I find myself so caught up in the what might be that I miss what is actually happening. 

So this year I am going to put down the lists, well except for meal planning and the our family calendar. And I am going to spend more time in the moment. I am going to find something to REJOICE about each day. 

I am also instituting a new weekly blog post titled JOY Filled Fridays. Be prepared for picture overload and lots of positivity on Fridays. 

Countdown to NOON Year!

This year we didn't get invited to any New Years Parties and we don't have our amazing babysitter Miss Rita booked. We were about to say let's just not celebrate and stay home in our sweats when pinterest came to the rescue. A group of creative mamas had posted how to have a count down to NOON years eve, that would include and entertain Pip, was inexpensive, full of great activities, and a great way to make family memories.

Activities:

1. Pip helped me decorate the house for New Years eve. She was a part of filling the flutes with diamonds, stringing the letters on the banner, and placing the party hats in the vase.

2. Coffee and doughnuts. Mr. R. is a big fan of pastries with his coffee. And Pip has become enthralled with anything with sprinkles. We made a trip to Dunkin' doughnuts for munchkins, coffee, and milk.

3. A ride on the carousel. Miss Rita takes Pip to carousel park once a week and we thought we would get in the action today. She LOVES the carousel. Words and photos can not describe the joy the carousel brings her.

4. Who doesn't love the playground? Slides, swings, monkey bars, yes please!

5.  We have all heard of lucky pennies and with a New Year on the horizon what better time to find a fountain and make a few wishes. We counted out 13 lucky pennies for 2013.

6. Mr. R. and I planned for a NOON toast of apple cider with Pip, but she crashed out in the car at 11:40 AM. I guess she takes after us, we rarely make it to midnight anymore either :)

I think this has been my most favorite New Years celebration to date. We spent time as a family. Pip had a blast and I didn't have a hangover the next day. I can see many more NOON Years Eves in our future.