Reoccurring Dreams

Do you have any reoccurring dreams?

If you do, do you know why you have them?  

I have one, and I am pretty sure I know why I have it, but I thought I'd discuss it with you.

So my reoccurring dream is as follows:

It is the first day of school.  I am a teacher and I have NO plans for the class, NO seating chart, NO papers to hand out, a GIGANTIC class full of unruly students, and absolutely no order or way to control the chaos that ensues from my lack of preparation.

That is the jist of the dream, and it reoccurs in various forms relatively often.  

I was a high school Spanish teacher for 9 years before I stayed home with my girls as of last year.  

It seems normal to me to have a dream like that while I'm still employed as a teacher, with all the expectations that go along with that and all, but I'm NOT a teacher anymore and I still have the dream.  

Perhaps it will wear off as time goes by and my mind stops expecting me to be responsible for teaching duties.

Before I became a teacher I was a waitress at a steakhouse.  While I was a waitress I had a different reoccurring dream.  I dreamed that I had 2 or 3 full tables in my section, and for one reason or another I just couldn't get to them.  I couldn't greet them, get their drinks, take their order, or anything.  All I could do was watch from the kitchen as they got angrier and angrier about their lack of service.  I saw them tell the manager how upset they were, and by the time I got there, they let me have it and stormed out of the restaurant.

My guess is that the two underlying fears in the dreams are connected.  My fear is being incompetent, or out of control.  It is so deep seeded that my mind takes the worse case scenario that could potentially occur in whatever my field of responsibility is for that season in life, and plays out the fear in a realistic enough situation to get me to feel it. 

If you have any reoccurring dreams, and you think you know the underlying reasons for them, please comment.  I'd love to know if I'm alone in this or if you, in your experience, have any ideas to share on this topic!

American Girl Place 4th Birthday Party

Grace, this past Christmas you received your very first American Girl doll.  She was personalized to you, looks just like you - hair, glasses, and all.  You very appropriately named her Grace.

This year you turned 4 on April 4th.  That means it was your golden birthday.

To celebrate your golden birthday, you, both of your grandmas, friend Amanda, and Daddy, Emma, and I took you downtown to go to the American Girl Place with your doll!  It was a big day in the city just for you!

 

You got all dressed up for the occasion.  Here you are with your curlers, opening miss Amanda's gift to you before we left to go to American Girl.

Next you got into your golden dress for your golden birthday!

We drove down all the way to the big city.  When we arrived at the American Girl place, there was so much to see!  Here is our family, including your doll, right by the star at the main entrance.  You were the star today, Grace!

 

Your "just like me" American Girl doll and you found where she was created.  There were so many kinds of dolls you can make and each one was so different!

Right away, you spotted those treats!  We didn't need to buy any, though, because our yummy afternoon tea was coming!

At our seating time, the double doors were opened and we walked in to this beautiful restaurant.  We were seated at our table along with your American Girl in her own little booster, which attached to the edge of the table.

americangirl.com

We were served an appetizer of cinnamon rolls, tea sandwiches and scones, and dessert including a mouse, cookie, and orange jello served in a real orange slice.

 

We snapped a quick photo of our beautiful dessert.  The flower pot had a strawberry mouse in the bottom and an oreo topping.  There was even a flower sticking out the top.

Here you are enjoying your dessert.

After the restaurant, we looked around the American Girl Place a bit more.  We found these cute mini American Girl dolls.  They are a little less than a third of the price of a full-sized American Girl.  

There were so many to choose from.  I read you each of their names, and you picked out little "Kit".  

 

Grandma Cyndy bought her for you.  We also brought home a book about Kit so you can read all about her in the historical setting she is in.  What fun!

Grace, we hope you enjoyed this American Girl party as much as we all did.  You are so special, and it is fun to do special things like this with you once in awhile.  

Happy golden birthday, my sweet girl!

Love Mom

Happy 4th Birthday Grace (Professional Family Photo Shoot)

Dear Grace,

Today you turn 4.  

Words can't even express how pleased we are with you.  You are an absolutely beautiful girl, inside and out.  You are kind, friendly, funny, and so smart.  You know your alphabet, numbers (in Spanish and English), shapes, colors, and have the vocabulary of a 20 year old.  You love your sister, your parents, your extended family, and most of all, God.  Your heart is sweet and tender, and you are becoming such a wonderful little lady.  We love you so much!  

Love,

Mom

Resurrection Eggs

Are you looking for a way to include the real story of Easter in your egg-coloring this year? 

I would highly recommend making Resurrection Eggs!  I had the idea last year to make them and they worked so well as a teaching tool and as a way to incorporate the real Easter story, that they are now a mainstay of our Easter festivities.

To make them you will need:

1) Regular egg-dying supplies (i.e. a kit from the grocery store)

2) Colorful tissue paper (available at the Dollar Store)

3) Glue - any kind

That's it!

You will make 4 eggs.  As shown in the picture above (from left to right), you will make (1) a passover egg, (2) a cross egg, (3) a tomb with the stone rolling away egg, and (4) a heaven egg.

Process:

1) Dye your eggs first and let them dry.  Choose colors against which the tissue paper you are using will pop.  This coming year I will change the first egg's backdrop color to a pale orange, I think.

2) Cut out your tissue paper to make the shapes shown above.

 - Passover egg will be a red goblet and a yellow loaf of bread.

 - Cross will be a red cross shape to also represent that Jesus bled while on the cross as our sacrifice

 - The tomb will be a wide square with an archway cut out of the middle.  You will also need a large circle for a boulder.

 - Heaven will be a long blue cloud with yellow beams coming out. 

3) Glue tissue paper onto eggs as shown and let dry.


Explanation for each egg:
Passover Egg:  Jesus had a final meal with his disciples called a Passover meal.  He explained to his disciples God's plan to save the world from their sins through Jesus.  Jesus was going to have to die on a cross.  Jesus told the disciples to eat the bread and remember his body that would be broken for them and drink from the cup and remember the blood that he would shed on the cross.  

Cross Egg:  Jesus was crucified on a cross.  The cross is red to show that Jesus bled and died on the cross.  When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the price for our sins by dying in our place.  Jesus never sinned.  He was perfect and took the punishment for all of our sins upon himself so that we could be forgiven.

Tomb Egg:  Jesus' body was placed in a tomb and it stayed there for 3 days.  On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead!  The stone was rolled away by angels, and when the women came looking for Jesus, the angel said, "He is not here; He has risen!".  When Jesus rose from the dead it showed that he was who he said he was because he conquered death and that he had the power to forgive us from our sins.

Heaven Egg:  Because of the Easter story, we will be with God in heaven when we die.  Heaven will be a beautiful place filled with joy because we will be with God and see all of his glory!

(You can use your own words, of course, but that is roughly how we explained it last year). 

How to involve the kiddos:

1) Ask your child to hand you each shape as you are ready to glue it on.  As you glue it on, explain its meaning.  Repeat this with all 4 eggs.

2) Go over the story again once the eggs are lined up.  Take out your children's bible (here's ours), and read the Easter story.  Have the kids point to the eggs being talked about.

3) Before Easter, have your kids tell a friend or relative about the resurrection eggs they made and each of their meanings.

4) On Easter morning, hide the eggs around the house, and have the kids find them and bring them back together before breakfast is served and Easter baskets are invaded.  

5) Pray together as a family and thank God for each aspect of the Easter story.

6) Ask your child which egg is their favorite and why.

7) If your child is into hard boiled eggs, allow them to eat that one on Sunday morning as part of breakfast.

Surely you will come up with even more of your own great ideas for the Resurrection Eggs.  I'd love to hear what you do with them if you try them!  

Happy (early) Easter to you! 

Another Potty Training Epiphany

Awhile back I wrote a post about my elation that we had finally gotten my daughter Grace potty trained.

 

(Read the whole post here)

The jist of that one was that we had gotten her to use a new dino potty and her diapers were taken away by the "Diaper Fairy".  Diapers were no longer an option as they were taken by the fairy and given to other little boys and girls in the world that needed them.  In one day she went from completely dependent on diapers and utterly averse to the potty to completely potty trained . . . on the dino potty at least.

Although we have been thrilled that she is out of diapers and mostly potty trained, we still have had to deal with the fact that she won't go to the bathroom anywhere else except that dino.  This means that she won't go on the little toilet at preschool, she won't go in any full sized big toilet, and we need to bring the dino with us when we travel or will be out for a long period of time. 

I guess that didn't bother me too much, until this past weekend.  I don't know if my patience just ran out because I was hormonal, or if I started to wonder if keeping the dino in the picture was enabling her, or what, but after my cousin's bridal shower on Saturday, with a girl in the backseat who had to go really badly and would not go at the shower, I told her that she was going to go on the big potty today. 

Thus ensued the wailing.  The little girl who had to pee so badly and just wanted to get home to her dino potty now was going to have to use the big toilet; the one she loathed and despised for inexplicable reasons.  Her life was just about over.  I know, I am a horrible person!

We arrived at home, and I had Jesse bring her to the big toilet and get ready to go as she squirmed about trying to hold it in while her pants and shoes were coming off.  Dino sits in the same bathroom where the big toilet does, and Grace sat on that big toilet for an hour without letting out a single drop of what had been making her dance for the past 2 hours. 

It was then that Jesse, remembering the whole concept of the Diaper Fairy, had a stroke of genius.  He took the dino, told Grace he was going away, and hid it.  OPTION REMOVAL.  Bam.  This is what it took.  Just like with the diapers.  Within a few minutes of the dino leaving, it worked.  She let it out.

Dino is now happily hibernating in an undisclosed location in our house and Grace is now going on the big white porcelain throne. 

Although it remains to be seen how she will do in public bathrooms, and basically all other toilets besides the one in her bathroom, we feel a sense of victory.

Let's hear it for progress!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

For your amusement, allow me to share some of the things that have been coming out of this witty 3 year old's mouth lately.

Photo by Aleksa Emma Photography

G:  Mom, how old do you need to be to go to college?

me: 18

G: Mom, I really want to go when I'm three.

G: Mom, when will I use the big potty?

me:  I don't know.

G: Only God knows?

me:  Yes

G:  I'll ask Him when I get to heaven when I will learn to use the potty.

G:  According to the bible, the bible says we should do everything right.

G:  How can we be friends with God if He is perfect and we are not?

G: (Speaking to our 1 1/2 year old) Emma, you don't have to fear death!

G:  The Bible is our only hope!

G:  (Praying for a friend of hers at preschool before bedtime) I pray that you would show her how to love.

G:  (Bringing a large puppy stuffed animal into the room) Mom, this puppy dog needs surgery.  He needs a new heart.

Creative Kid Snacks #5

I've never considered myself to be someone particularly "creative".  I can't walk into a room and envision an awesome makeover, I can't sew, and I can't paint very well either.

I've discovered recently that the kitchen is my creative outlet.  

One day I had the idea to make a creative snack for my almost 4 year old daughter.  What I made was nothing fancy, but ever since then she has been in the habit of asking for "a creative lunch".  Every time I make one for her, she is so sweet and tells me how great it is and says something like, "You're the best mom ever, I love my _____ (insert whatever animal or object the lunch was)."  With reactions like that, how can I resist continuing to stretch myself and create new snacks and lunches for her?

The best thing about the "Creative Kid Snacks" that I show you is that they are (a) healthy - consisting of plenty of fruits and veggies, plus other good food, and (b) easy - not too fancy or complicated.  They shouldn't require a tutorial for you to re-create them for your kiddos.

Here's what's been on the menu lately!

Hot air balloon:  basket is a graham cracker, ropes are string cheese thinly cut, balloon circle is made from a banana cut in half lengthwise and made to look like a circle, interior is strawberries and celery.  The clouds are cottage cheese and the people are carrots with raisins cut into fourths!  

This volcano was made in honor of my daughter’s recent fascination with lava.   The volcano is a grilled cheese sandwich, the lava is ketchup (used for dipping) and the ground below is some rice leftover from last night’s dinner.

 

This Valentines Day inspired snack is plain yogurt served in a heart shaped cookie cutter with grapes, blueberries, and strawberries along with some drizzled honey over top.  The “I” is made of celery and the “u” is made of sliced up string cheese.

Up next is my very cute owl.  He is my favorite of all.  His head/body is a peanut butter sandwich, his eyes are Ritz crackers with blueberries, wings and strawberries.  His beak and feet are carrots, and the moon is a banana.  I created those stars by placing some plain yogurt in my cake-decorating bag and using the star shaped tip.  I’m not gonna lie, that was going a little above and beyond, You could easily just dab the yogurt on with a small spoon if you want to recreate this guy!

Camping scene:  Tent is made of a peanut butter sandwich, the tree trunks and ground are made of Triscuit crackers, the leaves on the trees are made of cucumber and the campfire is made out of a base of walnuts and flames of carrots and yellow pepper.

  Next up we have the first thing I thought up when I came home from the grocery store with all of my colorful produce.  The basket of flowers is made of a graham cracker basket, celery stems, and four flowers.  Flower 1:  carrots and a grape.  Flower 2: bananas and the bottom of a strawberry.  Flower 3:  a piece of toast with jam cut into the shape of a tulip.  Flower 4: rosette made of ham.  

Mr. Elephant is probably the easiest one up today!  His body is a peanut butter sandwich, his legs, trunk, and tail are a banana (slice lengthwise using one long half for the trunk and the other half cut up for the legs and tail).  His ear is a piece of turkey and his eye is a blueberry.

 

David and Goliath:  their bodies are made of celery.  David’s sling is made of ham with a grape half for a stone.  Their heads are made of Ritz crackers, raisin eyes, and carrots for mouths.  The Sun is made of a banana, and Goliath’s sword is made of a carrot.

Our little angel is made of a grilled cheese sandwich.  She has wings of apples and a halo of corn.  Her eyes are raisins and her mouth is a strawberry.  She sits atop fluffy clouds of yogurt.

Do you recognize this guy from Monsters Inc.?  Mike Wazowski is made of a honeydew melon sliced and cored.  His eye is made of yogurt, sugar snap peas, and a blueberry.  His mouth is also made of blueberries.  I sliced him up in order to make the eating part easier for my little Disney fan.

 

You can find a link to all of my "Creative Kid Snacks" on my sidebar.

Have a great day!