Stupid template

Blogger is just frustrating me like crazy today. I'm just adding this post to fill up the top space so that the sidebar isn't being infiltrated by pictures. I really need to just suck it up and buy a template, but I'm broke AND cheap, so those two things don't really work well with buying digital images and html code.

I'll finish the post off with an awesome picture I got at the park a couple of weeks ago.

Counting lapbook!

Here is our second lapbook, with a focus on counting to five. For the record, I know a lot of people are against doing anything "school like" with toddlers, but I think as long as he's enjoying it, why not? I'm not forcing him to sit down and listen to a lesson, we're just having fun!

I designed this one myself, using templates from this website.

Here it is with the cover closed:

And here are all of the minibooks:

The petal book opens to show dice inspired dots, one through five. The pocket holds 4x6 cards with pictures of objects, again one through five:

The acordian book has hearts, one through five, plus the number written above. The matchbook cover holds a counting game, with pictures in random order to count:

There was an extra page in the matchbook, so I thought "Good Job" was a nice touch:

And here he is enjoying it! Every time he opened a new book, he said "Oooh, what's that?"

Connors first lap book!

I absolutely love the idea of lapbooks, especially to tie up a section in a homeschooling situation. In fact, my class at work is making a spider lapbook right now, and we're going to start bats for the second half of the month!

When I found this I was THRILLED! We used her Cars themed tot book, and Connor has been having a blast with it! We made a numbers one as well, but I'll cover that in a later post.

Here is the cover, which I designed using pictures I found through google.

This is the inside of the book, with everything closed.

Here are the color and shape books:

Here is the name book, and the counting cards:

And of course, here he is enjoying it!

Coolest Dinosaur EVER!

http://www.boogerbearcreations.com/2010/07/giveaway-happy-birthday-wedding.html

Just doing my part to support a Work At Home Mom, and hopefully win a dinosaur for Connor!

Camping 2010!

Our yearly camping trip was another adventure!

We got there on Tuesday afternoon (7-6-10) after a longer-than-usual drive. Our car overheated on the mountain, so we really had to nurse her up there, stopping often to cool down. By the time we got there, Connor was pretty cranky, but when we got his tricycle out he was happy again. We set up camp, did a bit of exploring and started dinner. I premade some tin foil dinners for us, made up of cubed steak, potatoes, carrots, celery, Lea & Perrens, and a bit of salt and pepper. We had some corn on the cob as well, and banana boats for dessert. Banana boats are too sweet for my taste, but they're a kid favorite. Just slice a banana legnthwise, leaving the outside peel intact. Stuff with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, seal with peanut butter, and wrap in foil. Bury them in hot coals for about 10 minutes and eat with a spoon.

Bedtime was nice and easy, and thankfully we had enough of our normal routine for Connor to go down without any problems. The girls were in their tent, giggling long into the night. We were up with the sun, and had ziplock omelets for breakfast. (These are super easy. Break two eggs into a ziplock bag, add whatever ingredients you like, and boil for 15 minutes. They fall right out.)

We took some easy walks, fixed our natural bathtub that had been flooded and filled with sand, and watched the wildlife.Connor had tons of fun chasing butterflies and looking for birds, but walks were a bit stressful for all of us. He's still really prone to falling, so we couldn't get too many steps away from him out of fear that he'd fall in the creek. He didn't like this restriction very much. As long as he was allowed to lead, he was pretty happy though.

Wednesday was wrapped up with steaks and carrots, and of course S'mores! We tried making breadsticks over the campfire, but they were a lot of work and not anything special to eat. By Thursday morning, we were all tired and ready for a shower, so we headed home. The trip home was easier since it was downhill, but we're pretty sure we blew a head gasket. For now it looks fixable, so fingers are crossed!


This is Sara and Megan's tent
This is our tent, with my and Chris' bed on the right and Connor's bed on the left.
Connor checking out his new bed.
Our campsite: The trailer is on the far left, with our tent right next to it. Then you can see the firewood, and through those trees is a small hill that leads to the creek. To the far right is Sara and Megans tent.
Our creek
Mary Jane on her run.
Connor taking a nap right after we finished setting up camp.
Connor and his evil laugh.
The girls bright and early Wednesday morning.
Getting a drink out of the irrigation pipe that feeds our natural bathtub.
Cleaning the sand and muck out of the natural bathtub.
Connor running around the campsite.

Happy Birthday!

My baby boy turned two this week! We had a small party at the park, and he had a blast. He got three different tractors (well, two tractors and a dump truck), a couple of books, a Slinky Dog from Toy Story, a stuffed Buzz Lightyear, a My Pal Scout (stuffed dog that learns his name and favorite things), some cars, and a squirt gun. The dump truck was the clear favorite, but all of his presents have gotten tons of play time.

In other news, he is talking enough to drive the most patient person insane, but it's awesome. On the way to the store yesterday, he told me that he has shoes about 392 times. No sentences yet, but he's putting two words together on a regular basis. The potty thing is still slow, but we are determined not to stress out on it. He'll do it when he's ready, and in the meantime I'll just take him to the potty whenever he asks. He does ask from time to time, but it's not often enough to make me think that he's really ready. I'd rather have him in diapers until he's 4 than stress all of us out over accidents and crying. At this rate though, I think he's going to get it pretty soon.

A very sad post

A friend of mine lost her son in a horrible accident this weekend, on May 29, 2010. Her name is Tamika, and her son's name was Gabriel. He was only 4 years old. It was her baby's first birthday, and they had a few friends over for a bbq. The kids were in a friends SUV watching a movie, when the battery drained. Tamika was inside with the baby, and her husband was outside with the kids and a couple of adult friends. The husband and one of the friends went in search of some jumper cables, leaving the kids with the other adult friend.

The woman who was left watching them walked away, and one of the older kids bumped the car into neutral. The SUV rolled backwards into Gabriel and the lit BBQ, pinning him and it against the house. Tamika was the first one to get to him. She tried to move the car, but she wasn't strong enough. She tried to administer CPR, but she wasn't able to.

He suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns, as well as head trauma and cardiac arrest. He died in the hospital.

Her friends have set up a paypal account to accept contributions for his final expenses. If you can give, please give. If you can't give, please pass this story along. Any help we can get to her is needed.

The address to the paypal account is gabrielhinton@yahoo.com A link to the news article is here.