COOL! I want one!

Easter Pictures

Nana has a huge Rubbermaid Bin full of Poly Pocket play toys that she got at an estate sale over 10 years ago....seriously. She said it is because she always knew she would have a granddaughter some day. This year Madelyn is finally old enough to play with them.....these pics are her first look at them.

Here is my girl eating Skittles, the only candy she could have with her food allergies. The funny thing is, she was NOT supposed to have anymore and was "sneaking" them.....she forgot I was there!

Here she is pretending to "shop" with her bag, which was her daddy's Easter basket.

Opening her Spongebob Easter Basket....just one of two Easter Baskets.....SPOILED!

Creating A Strong Family Culture While Working

Hello again! Madelyn's preschool/daycare puts our email newsletters and I really like this one, so I thought I would share.....again! Enjoy!

Creating A Strong Family Culture While Working
Developing a family culture and growing healthy children is more than sharing information. It is about sharing feelings as well. In The Working Mother’s Guide to Life: Strategies, Secrets, and Solutions, Linda Mason emphasizes that family life flourishes with intimacy and honesty. By showing our children the breadth and depth of our emotions, we allow them to develop a broader range of emotional reactions as well. Sharing life stories, personal interests, and relaxed time with our children can help us appear real and accessible to them. Through this, we create a bond with our child that is based on intimacy and honesty.

Creating Intimacy In Your Home
Mason writes, “Young children love to be around other people, most particularly their parents, and they are drawn to cozy corners and nooks – intimate family spaces.” Consider the space of your own home and remember that bigger is not always better. To create an intimate setting, Mason suggests creating two small spaces for your young child: a writing area and a book area. This emphasizes the importance of reading and writing and gives your child his own space for these activities.

Writing area: can be a corner of your kitchen counter with a box of pencils, crayons, markers, paper, and envelopes so your child can draw and write whenever she wants.
Reading area: create an inviting book area with a basket or shelf of children’s books and a comfortable cushion or chair.

Television can work against maintaining a strong family culture, or create a diminished culture that misses out on lively interaction. Yes, television can be an educational and relaxing experience, and even create shared family experiences, but it is important to monitor what our children watch. Most anything else that involves physical activity, reading, or social interaction is a better choice. Ultimately, if your child is in a structured child care or school setting, some unstructured playtime at home, without resorting to the TV, would be much better.

However we choose to create a strong family culture – inventing unique family rituals, continuous verbal family bonding, or designing intimate family settings – the real values lie in the focused family time spent together. Such occasions will develop into cherished family moments for everyone.

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk

Madelyn came home yesterday with Homemade Sidewalk Chalk AND the instructions on "How-To" make it.....so, I thought I would share it with you all!

Any excuse is a good excuse to get outside. And Homemade Chalk ranks right up there! Not only will making your own sidewalk chalk bring hours of hopscotch and drawing entertainment, but all sidewalk fun builds hand muscles, which help young kids as they learn to write.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that the "Easter Bunny" JUST brought Maddy a brand new Crayola Box of 52 pieces of Sidewalk Chalk......um, yeah.

What You Need:

Toilet paper or paper towel tubes
Scissors
Duct Tape
Wax Paper
3/4 cup warm water
Small bucket or disposable container
1 1/2 cups Plaster of Paris
2-3 tablespoons tempera paint

What You Do:
1. If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half. Cover one end of each tube with duct tape. Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes. Each piece should be as long as the tube and about 4 inches wide. Roll up each piece of wax paper and slip it into the tube.

2. Pour the water into the bucket. Sprinkle the Plaster of Paris over the water and stir the mixture thoroughly with a spoon. Mix in the Tempera Paint (If you would like pastel colors, you can mix brighter colors of Tempura powder with some white.)

3. Place each tube tape side down, on a level surface. Pour the wet plaster mixture into the tubes. Lightly tap the sides of each tube to release air bubbles, then set the plaster-filled tube aside to harden for a few days. Once they are dry, peel off the tubes and wax paper. Your chalk is ready for action!

Enjoy!!

*UPDATE* A wonderful blog reader suggested trying Glow-in-the-dark paint.......give it a try!!!

I am also linking this post to the lovely blog Living with Lindsay.

St. Louis Handmade

Woo Hoo~~I am so happy, and just smiling ear to ear to see my Featured Artist Profile on St. Louis Handmade!!! Please head on over and take a look, AND of course browse around the site to see MANY other great St. Louis artists!! Thank you so much Tammy for choosing me as one of your artist profiles! I am truly honored!

Every Other Artist Market

04/11/09 - "EVERY OTHER ARTIST MARKET"

If you live in the St. Louis, Missouri area and want to check out some great artists, please come to the Webster Groves "Every Other Artist Market" that takes place Saturday, April 11th, from 10am-5pm at the Old Orchard Gallery. Todd Tevlin will be selling his photography there, so stop by and say hi to him!

Old Orchard Gallery
37 South Old Orchard
Webster Groves, MO. 63119

The gallery is located across the street from "Highway 66 Roadhouse and Kitchen" restaurant.

Todd will also be selling these Pendants created by Me!

Etsy In The News

Hello all! My mother called to tell me that she saw Etsy on one of the morning shows this last week. When asked which one (I assumed the Today show, as that is all I have ever known her to watch) she could not remember...so I did some searching. Here it is!

With my weird, and sometimes off-the-wall sense of humor, I found it HILARIOUS! Enjoy!