My New Start for 2011

So in 2011 I really want my business to take off, I am going to put myself to the grind and really get this going! I am going to have a Home Show on January the 8th and would like for anyone who reads this to come, and if you can't then if you would like to purchase something let me know! January 14th and 15th I get to go to Philly for the Regional Rally! Which is so exciting because it will be my first one ever!
I am a shy person by nature, so this new adventure is going to be hard, getting out there to meet new people BUT I feel that WHEN I get out there and do this it will come more naturally and then I will be a pro at it.
Here is to a great 2011 for me and everyone that I am blessed to have in my life.

Our Winter Lessons and Fun

Well, we started with doing an Advent Calendar just a simple one with little candies on it so that Adrian could count down to Christmas, well he quickly lost interest and no longer wants to take the candies off! He lost one of the candles on our Menorah for the Hanukkah lessons too! Well today is St. Nicholas Day, I've got a few things planned we are going to watch Veggie Tales St Nicholas movie, do some crafts, and S for Santa Clause activity (even though he knows his letters) and talk about how St Nick got his start.
Also still to come is National Poinsettia Day I found a lovely Legend of the Poinsettia to tell him and also some science/social studies lessons planned with facts about poinsettias. Fun times...

and so starts.....

Today at sunset begins Hanukkah, obviously I am NOT jewish but we will still be learning about the holiday and even "lighting" a litte menorah. Also we will be doing an advent calendar today so that AJ can count down seeing as how he thinks everytime someone says its Christmas time he thinks we will go to bed and wake up to presents and stockings.
A few other things going on this month will be learning about the TRUE meaning of Christmas, Kwanza, etc...
A list of events this month (if you want to do any of them): National Roof Over your Head Day Dec 3rd, Read a Book Month, National Cookie Day Dec 4th, Saint Nicholas Day Dec 6th, National Poinsettia Day Dec 12th, Wright Brothers Day Dec 17th, Winter Begins Dec 21st, Hanukkah Sunset Dec 1st to Sunset Dec 9th, Christmas Dec 25th, Kwanza Dec 26th to Jan 1st....
And I have things planned for everyday!! Plus a few things in between such as making some decorations!! I just love homeschooling its a lot of fun, and when I went to school for Early Childhood Education we were told that when we taught pre-schoolers NOT to just teach the holidays that we observe but to teach all of them so that we did not offend someone who did not observe etc etc..so I figure that by starting AJ on them this year IF he ever went to a public school he would already know.
I will post some of the things that we have done for FALL and thanksgiving pictures are on FACEBOOK if you really want to see.

Thanksgiving Week

This week is going to be FUN! We started yesterday by making handprint turkeys, the way we all did as kids, tracing your hand and then coloring it in. Except ours are a little different the feathers are made out of beads. Multicolored and brightly colored beads.
Today we are going to be making handprint turkeys again, BUT this time we are going to paint our palms brown, and fingers differnt colors to make the feathers and again i will let him decorate it with beads, sequins, etc..
Tomorrow will be pilgrims, I just need to figure out what to do with that, I am actually thinking I might just use pictures of our faces to make them, I always make one of whatever I am showing him how to make, and maybe wednesday we will make something with Aunt Donna since she will be here visiting us.
Thursday...is Thanksgiving so crafts are over...Friday we might go get a family picture taken and then Saturday is Adrian's birthday party!
Chuck-e-Cheese, wow thats gonna be FUN, tons of screaming kids at 2:30 on a saturday afternoon...lol, no really it will be fun I love being around kids. I would like to have TONS of them in my home!

Cleaning out...

So yesterday I started on a project that I am now regretting...cleaning out Adrian's toys and clothes again in his room, we did clothes in summer and had to do round 2 for the year. Well his birthday and Christmas are both coming up next month so I thought that maybe we should clean out his old toys that he either does that play with at all anymore OR are broken...well let me tell you having a child old enough to tell you what to get rid of and not is a pain when your trying to do this. Everything he saw me touch he was like I want to keep that!
Well I am still working on it, he also wants his room rearranged now and I originally agreed, BUT, after really thinking of the way he wants it set up there is not going to be ANY play room at all for him in there. So I may just need to set it up the way that he wants and show him that it won't work.
I did get his whole closet cleaned out...which if you saw his closet you'd die! He cleaned his room by himself he makes it look really nice, well what you can see, when I opened his closet to "organize" it he had tons of clothes mixed in with lots of toys just thrown in there. So I got all the clothes out of there, then when i did his dresser he just stuffed clothes where ever they would fit, I keep it organized, socks and under wear in the top, shirts in next drawer, pants etc...
Also I decided to start buying him plastic tubs for things like his legos he is now getting, and train track peices, I have to do 2 for trains because he has Thomas and GeoTrax.
Well enough babbling for today..will post pictures of the room when we get it done.

Reading Lists

Oprah's 2010 Reading Lists Ages 3 to 5

I am not really a huge Oprah fan, but I was searching online for some reading lists for Adrian so that when we go to the Library this week to return the 15 we checked out last time, I have an idea of what to look for instead of blindly searching this place (its pretty good sized Children section) so this is what I found.

All The World by Liz Garton Scanlon
Boo Hoo Bird by Jeremy Tankard
Book Fiesta! A Children's Day/Book Day Celebration by Pat Mora
Bubble Trouble by Magaret Mahy
Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
My Garden by Kevin Henkes
Opuestos: Mexican Folk Art Opposites in English and Spanish by Cynthia Weill
Wee Little Bunny by Lauren Thompson
What Can You Do With a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla
Wombat Walkabout by Carol Diggory Shields
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (Classic Title)
Frederick by Leo Lionni (Classic Title)
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell (Classic Title)
The Lion & The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (Classic Title)
The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth, Reteller (Classic Title)
"More, More, More," Said the Baby by Vera B Williams

Other Classic Titles in same age group:
Harold and The Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Go, Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman
Fortunately by Remy Charlip
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Like I said I do not really like Oprah BUT I am going to attempt to read everything on this list with Adrian. And then there is also a list for boys I have yet to check out and then there is the ages 6 to 9 list that I am going to check out when that time comes.

Baby Things....

Well, as everyone knows I do not have an infant anymore (although I badly want one!) But I get all sorts of magazines and coupons packages. One in particular is for Gerber, and their Nestle Good Start Formula, after having been through all the formula mess with AJ I vow to never to do it again with any other children I have, so they are just garbage to me. But each pack comes with a mini magazine and I was absently flipping through it and came across an article "The Scoop on choosing a formula" again promoting THEIR formula. And the very next page is an article "Bonding at feeding time" which is an article about breastfeeding, which to me seems right, but just makes their efforts to sell their formula a waste of time!
The breastfeeding article talks about skin to skin contact and the bond that is made between a mother and child during that time, awesome!, I have a wish for any other children that I have (and I feel like a bad mother for not breastfeeding AJ) but I want them to never touch a bottle unless Matthew wants to feed them! In which case it will still be pumped breast milk. If there is anyone with advise out there OR has books they can loan me about attachment parenting OR breastfeeding, please leave a comment!
Love you all.