Meet My Monkey

Monkey is a slow-poke.  Especially in the morning.  My mom says it's payback for all the times I was the last to be ready to go somewhere (I think she's exaggerating a bit) but regardless, Monkey IS the one I'm always telling to hurry up.  Always.  I suppose I need to get him moving 15 minutes before everyone else but I keep thinking there is no reason it will take him more than half an hour for him to put clothes on.

Yesterday was no exception either.  All that needed to happen was shoes, socks and coat on and finish his granola bar.  I decided that I'd help out and put the socks on him but left the shoes on the kitchen chair next to him.  I can't do everything, right?

And here is our conversation:
Me: "Come on Monkey, we need to get going."
Monkey: "I'm eating my granola bar."
Me: "Then stop playing with Bug, turn around and eat."
Monkey: "Ok."  He turns around, and continues to talk to Bug who has decided that it would be best to lean across the table so he could play with Monkey.  Monkey can't get in trouble if he's not turned around.  Or at least that seems to be the thought process the 2 of them had.  They continue to giggle and poke at each other.
Me: "Stop goofing around Monkey.  If you're done with the granola bar we can save it for later."  I often wonder if they force themselves to eat out of fear, worried they may not get this snack for weeks.
Monkey: "I'm still eating, Mommy."  

I make sure I have everything I'm going to need: Keys, wallet, coat on Bug and myself, shoes.  Everything is done.

Me: "Ok Monkey, it's time to be done."  He's been eating these granola bars (it's one of those crunchy granola bars with 2 in a package) for about 20 minutes.
Monkey: "Can I save these for later?"  He's only eaten half of each by the way
Me: *sigh* "Yes, I'll put them on the counter.  Let's put your shoes and coat on and get going."
Monkey: "I don't know where my socks are."
Me: "They're on your feet!"
Monkey: "Oooohhhh!  I didn't know that.  That's so funny.  I don't remember them being on my feet."  He is genuinely surprised almost amazed that he his socks have magically appeared on his feet.
Me: I don't know what to say to this, all I can think is - This is Monkey in a nutshell.

Vicky

A Carrot and a Pineapple

Sunshine loves telling stories.  I suppose most kids do, but she will tell a story the whole drive to my mom and dad's house, a good 30-40 minute drive.  Arguing will cease and Monkey will sit there quietly and listen to her.  She often follows a similar storyline, it usually has animals as the characters and they always have very unique names.  She takes great pains in her stories bu she doesn't seem to want to stop and think too long about the names of her characters.  Often they will rhyme with whatever odd 2 syllable word she spit out.

We're sitting in the car today (on the way to my parents' house) and she is telling a story to Monkey.  It begins, "Once upon a time there were five ducks (there are the animals) whose names were Sella, Bella and Pella. [pause here, Sella ended up turning into Stella and Pella ended up being Rosie, probably because of some books she's been reading - about 2 dogs, Bella and Rosie]."  So they continue doing whatever it was they were doing and the 3 ducks meet up with the other 2 ducks, "Carrot and Pineapple".

The 5 ducks decide to make a necklace and must decide what they should use.  Porcupine quills?  No, their mommy doesn't like porcupines.  Fish?  No, there aren't any fish in the pond.  The Mommy duck ends up getting a necklace made out of  wire.  Ouch.

She continues her story and it is indeed unique and entertaining.  So I ask her, is Carrot a boy or a girl?  She tells me a boy.  What about Pineapple?  Pineapple is also a boy.  Really? Boys?

I'm a little concerned about my future grandchildren.

Vicky

Bittersweet

My kids have never been fast talkers.  Sunshine being the earliest talker, was still behind by many people's standards though not so far behind she needed any kind of early intervention (I know this because we had her tested).  Monkey started saying a few words around 15 months but stopped around 18 months.  At this point he began walking (all 3 were a little late on walking as well).  We were told that late walkers are usually late talkers since their brains can only handle one major skill at a time.  So Monkey began his speech therapy at 2 1/2 with a whopping vocabulary of 20 words.

It wasn't a big surprise when Bug didn't begin walking until he was 15 months and is very limited in his speech.  So off to speech we go to get him evaluated and have what we already know confirmed:  Bug is going to need some speech intervention.

The thing about having a late walker and then a late talker is you keep them a baby longer.  You coddle them a bit more and when you look at them, you don't see a 2 year old throwing a tantrum,  you still see "your baby" who doesn't understand.  Now let me tell you, Bug?  he understands what you're telling him.  He will do things (when he feels like it), but make no mistake, he understands you.  He just can't talk back to you.  Yet.

Because of his lack of speech, he has made up some of his own hand signals, aka sign language.  One of those is clapping.  At the end of his nighttime prayer.  We say our prayers and instead of saying "Amen" he does 1 clap.  Sometimes 2.  It is the cutest thing.

Or at least it was.

Now he's learning to talk.  He's beginning to stop all of these adorable little signs and gestures that are still such a baby thing to do even though he's certainly not a baby.  He is growing up and I'm not ready.

Vicky

Patch Toys Review

There are some things that surprise me and some things that surprise me more than others.  Patch Toys is one of those things that surprises me more than others.  I recently received some games to review from Patch Toys, their 3 "Big Little Games"; Spurtle Turtle, Flingin' Frogs, and Super Shooter Basketball, as well as Cluck-n-Chuck.  In addition they also sent me the ultimate circle-what-you-want-Santa-to-bring-you catalog.  

Before I begin, I must say, the Big Little Games are awesome, they all have 3 things in common: affordable, each game costs $8.99, they are small and therefore transportable, ready and willing to go to Grandma's for a visit, and the pieces all store in the main part of the game.  If you are a family that is continually losing pieces or the boxes constantly break, or the box breaks and the pieces fall out, these pieces are all contained.

Spurtle Turtle

2 or more players - Ages 3+

A very fun twist on a memory/matching game.  This cute little turtle shoots out little discs for players to match up.   There are 20 pieces (10 matches), enough that most kids at age 3 will not be overwhelmed or discouraged but will not bore quickly.  If you have a little one younger than 3 (such as Bug), you can flip the pieces over and let them find the little fish and underwater sea creatures and have it as a recognizing/matching type of game.

 Flingin' Frogs

1-4 Players - Ages 4+

This game is a big leap (sorry for the pun) in difficulty.  The object is to have your own little frog jump up onto the lily pad.  The lily pad is tiered, the higher the tier, the smaller the pad, the smaller the pad, the more points it is worth.  The ultimate goal is to land in the lily pad flower at the tip top of the tiers.  It is definitely harder than you first think, the little frogs like to jump or slide off the lily pad.  It does make it more fun though for parents when they are playing with their kids. I can play with the kids and really enjoy the challenge (ok fine, I played with the game even when they weren't around).  The kids won't outgrow this game in a year either, which is always good to know.

With a little finagling, I was able to get the lid on the bottom with all frogs, lily pads and flower.

Proof that you can get the frog in the lily pad as well as the top lily pad (for a grand total of 90 points!).

Super Shooter Basketball

1 or more players - Ages 5+

A fun, ball flinging/flying/shooting game that both boys and girls enjoy and are able to play with a friend (sister) or by his/herself.  This game is great, Monkey will be 5 in January and is able to play by himself or with a friend.  We do need to be aware of the 3 balls it came with as Bug enjoys taking balls and running off with them but that's a whole different issue.  Having 3 of them is also nice, if one does happen to get lost, the game won't be ruined.

I wasn't as good at this one as I was the frogs, but then again, basketball wasn't ever my sport.

Cluck-n-Chuck

2-4 players - Ages 4+

Now this is a fun and somehow wild game.  Then again, my kids can make most things wild.  Cluck-n-Chuck is adorable, you push the little chicken coop down and race against the coop's internal timer (no batteries needed - woohoo!) when the time is up the roof of the coop pops up and the chickens along with it.  I was a bit concerned, I had visions of little chickens popping across the family room floor, in reality it does just enough of a bounce to startle the kids, have the chickens bounce off a bit, and make the kids laugh (or squeal if they are my kids).  The directions are pretty easy and basic; everyone gets a bunch of different colored chickens, roll the die, and get all of your chickens on top of the coop before anyone else and the coop pops up.  The fast pace of the game was fun and had the kids bouncing around on their knees waiting for their turn.

Push it down


and it pops up.
If your coop pops up and your chickens go in rainbow order, I will be absolutely amazed and would love to see the pictures of it!

How can you NOT love these chickens when they are in a rainbow!

Cluck-n-Chuck sells for $16.99.

All in all, I would say that any of these games would be a welcome addition to a preschooler's toy and game collection.  To buy one of these games or any of the other dozens of games Patch Toys sells, you can visit them at their website.

Vicky

Although I received these products for review, all opinions are my own.  I received no monetary payment to do this review.  Thank you Patch Toys for this opportunity.

Snowy owl craft

My Daisy troop did a fun and easy craft that they were still able to put their own mark on.  We're working on the 5 Flowers, 4 Stories, 3 Cheers for Animals journey.  This was a great craft that was clean, as we were meeting in the school library that meeting, and required little help from the adults.  Also a huge bonus.

What you need:
Pinecones - I used the ones from my neighbor's tree.  They're the kind with the flat bottom that you often see used with Christmas decorations.
5-6 cotton balls per pinecone
google eyes - We had some that were self sticking and my practice had regular glue, I think I preferred good ole Elmer's for this particular project
Brown fleece
White fleece
Glue or glue stick

Directions:
-Take the cotton balls and slightly pull them apart to make them look like cotton candy, then stuff it in the openings and all around the pinecone
-Cut out the feet and the wings and use an extra little triangle from the brown fleece to make the beak
-Attach* the feet, wings, eyes, and beak by putting the glue on [the beak, wing, eye, beak], not on the cotton ball or pinecone.  Happy flying!
*If you have girls that are a little heavy handed with the glue, you may want to use the glue stick, the glue will ooze out a bit through the fabric if you use too much.

Some of the girls were quite creative and used their extra material clippings to make accessories for their birds.  We had owls wearing aprons and hats when we left!  Others were able to get their owl's wings to stick out to make it look like it was flapping.

This is Sunshine's owl.  She said that her owl was cold!

Vicky

ChiTAG Fair

Well we went to the ChiTAG Fair this weekend and, no surprise, had a great time.  The one downfall was that it was absolutely gorgeous out and we spent what was probably the last nice weekend of the year inside, but at least we had fun and we were together.  Which is the most important.

The sheer volume of toys and games, people and booths is overwhelming.  Where to start?  What to look at?  What to play with?  Bug had his opinion pretty much immediately and wanted to ride on a little riding toy.  He had a bit of a hard time as it was meant for children 3 and over but Monkey, Sunshine and my niece all had a great time on them.  I had to finally get them out of there and let other kids have a turn.  The others, understanding there was more to see, wanted to keep going; Bug was dragged, screeching and kicking.

Before the screaming incident.

My baby Bug doesn't stay upset for long though.

Once again, the Citiblocs were a huge hit, for big kids

As was the Plan Toy area although this year all 3 of them enjoyed it.

I couldn't get Bug to hold still for a shot, I thought it was fitting to get him when he was going crazy on the rocking horse.

I found some great toys that I will definitely keep in mind for my kids as well as nieces, nephews, and friend birthday gifts.  All 3 kids had a great time and both boys and mommy fell asleep on the way home.

Vicky

Birthday party!

Bug was a trooper for his party.  He went down for his nap at 12:30 instead of 1:00-2:00 and slept through everyone coming in, talking, and the dog barking.  He even managed to sleep through the next 45 minutes and stayed asleep until almost 3:00 which, considering there was so much noise and chaos, was pretty impressive.

He wore his Halloween costume but insisted on trying on his new coat that he received as a gift.  Off came the costume and on went the coat.  He would have put the snow pants on but we were able to hide them from him for a bit.

I found a cake on pinterest, apparently an oldie, my mom told me she did the exact same thing for my sister.  It was easy and adorable.  Well when I say easy, I mean it was easy to decorate.  I had a bit of a problem getting the cakes out of the pans.  They crumbled out of the pans and I had a batch of cupcakes burn.  I think I ended up making 4 boxes of cake (instead of the 2 I needed).  Hubby wanted me to give up, but I persevered and came out with a cute cake.  The next day I couldn't find candles and had to use tea candles.  This is what happens when one spouse puts something in a spot so it will be "ready for the party" and the other spouse doesn't, then that other spouse is "helping" and puts them away in a different spot than you would normally put them away.  Oh, I (Hubby) put the cake on top of the refrigerator to keep little hands from grabbing at the cupcakes, Bug had already grabbed on and started licking all the frosting off.  Unfortunately, it was warm up there and the frosting started to melt, especially on the cake (the cake that was held together with frosting).

Not the best lighting, I took it the night before on a whim with the thought "just in case something happens" the next day the frosting had slid off the lion a bit.

Stripping down to try on his coat.

Despite what Monkey thinks, he really does NOT need help opening his presents.

We had lots of presents, lots of food, and best of all, lots of family to celebrate my baby's birthday.

Vicky