Preschool Basketball

Micah has been doing preschool basketball this summer. Since we are out in the country, we have to drive 30 minutes for him to participate in any sort of programming, but it's totally worth it since he's just so cute out there and he's learned a TON.

While we were sitting and watching him, I overheard one mother saying that they were gone for 12 hours the other day, from 9-9...ENTIRELY doing kids activities. Basketball, basketball, soccer, gymnastics, t-ball, swimming, swimming, soccer, softball....it was RIDICULOUS. Her four year old did not want to play basketball that day and went up to her 4 times throughout the hour asking if he could be done, and she said "No! Stop whining! You signed up for this stuff and you need to do it." The poor kids was just exhausted. I totally get wanting your kids to have opportunities, but parents- Let your kids be kids! They need unstructured down time to just play and be silly. Micah has taken swimming, gymnastics, soccer and now basketball...but we spread it out so he gets the experiences but isn't overprogrammed.

Anyways, off my soap box. :-) In case you want to run some drills with your kids at home...here's what they learned. Just a warning- all you athletic people will read this and think "Duh! Is she kidding me?!?!" Nope, not kidding. I truly did not know any of this stuff before watching Micah's teacher. But if you're not sporty like us, you'll be thankful to know how to teach your kid "proper" technique.

Preschool Basketball Pointers

•Practice dribbling on the side on both sides. If you dribble in front like most kids start off doing, it can land on their feet and bounce off.

•They're supposed to use their fingertips to dribble the ball, not slap at it.

•When they go to shoot, they should spread their feet, bend their knees and "put their hand in the cookie jar" when they extend.

•They practiced shooting with little foam balls and volleyballs first before using basketballs since they're lighter (but they only used basketballs for dribbling).

•For passing, they can learn how to do chest passes or overhead passes. And you take a step forward when you throw it. (seriously...did not know this stuff beforehand)

•They also practiced shooting and passing against the gym wall so it went back to them. I can see that occupying the kids for a long time at home.

Thank goodness for coaches to teach our kids the things we don't have a clue how to do. We're happy to reinforce their lessons at home! Today was his last day, so we brought it some basketball cupcakes to share with his teammates in celebration.

Now we need to find a portable basketball hoop that goes as low as 6 feet, but up to standard height, so he can use it now and grow into it. If any of you have any suggestions of one or ideas of how to make our own, please let me know!!!

Duluth!

This last weekend we got to go visit Duluth! We are only able to make it back once a year, but it always feels like coming home.

I was particularly excited this time because we also got to hang out with my friend Anna and her sweet baby boy!

While we were there, Micah got to push baby N around in his stroller for awhile. He took his job VERY seriously!

I was so pleased to see how much Micah remembered Duluth! We heard, "Hey! I've been here before." a LOT! He was just under 3 when we left and it's been 2 years now, so I would have thought most of his memories were gone...but he was asking about visiting Playfront and the children's museum, and describing them beyond what he would have just seen in pictures or heard in stories. He didn't ask about our old house, so we didn't bring it up or drive by.

Liliana was just a baby when we left, so she doesn't remember anything. But we told her lots of fun stories about her time there. The night before we moved, we went down to throw rocks in the water one last time and she would sneak rocks into her mouth when we weren't looking and then not move her tongue so we wouldn't catch on that she had one...she was a very stealth-like baby. So we had to constantly squeeze her cheeks to pop out the rocks. It was a little like a baby gumball machine.

The highlight of the trip though was visiting our church! Jeremy preached, I did the children's message, and the kids had their own posse of friends to play with! It truly felt like we had never left. When we were on our way home Micah said, "Duluth is the awesomest!!! Let's turn the van around right now and go back!!" and Liliana said, "That was cool!" and then promptly feel asleep. She was worn out.

We can't wait to go back again next year!!!

(easy and free) Make Your Own Toy

This post is quick and easy because this activity is too!

•Find a bunch of a small object laying around your house, they should all be about the same size. Could be paper clips, beads, pennies, milk caps, etc.

•Find a plastic container with a lid. Think margarine tubs, cool whip containers, drink cups from fast food, etc.

•Cut a hole in the lid slightly smaller than your object, so the object can go through, but they have to push it a bit instead of it just falling through.

•Line the hole with masking tape so they don't cut themselves.

Voila!

So the concept here is that they push the object into the container. (Great for refining fine motor skills and eye/hand coordination) But Liliana found lots of other ways to play with it too. She counted while she put them in. She started using different body parts like her chin or her elbow to push them through. It took me less than a minute and no money to make and she played with it for over a half hour on three different occasions. Micah also liked it, but he pretended that the bead things were bad guys and he had to put them in jail.

One other tip- whenever I give the kids something new that may not have super kid appeal at first...like a yogurt container with beads for instance :-), instead of giving it directly to them, I take it myself to the table and start playing with it without acknowledging their presence. If they ask me what it is I say, "MY new toy!" Instantly, it is cooler than any toy at Target and they must. have. a. turn. NOW!

Fishing!

Finally! A sunny day! We were so excited to take the kids out on the lake! Actually, we were more excited than they were. They would have been fine running through the sprinkler all day.

They'd been fishing before this summer, just off the public access dock with corn. So this was their first time going boat fishing with worms this summer. Liliana was less than thrilled about posing for a photo...she wanted to get started right away.

Since we're not residents, only the kids get to fish. Liliana was totally fine with that. She wasn't about to have any one else touch HER pole.

Micah decided that it was a fishing contest. Girls against boys. Liliana was catching them left and right and he'd dramatically sigh every time. Loudly. Towards the end, he started catching some and then he cheered up. I agree that it's not any fun if you're not catching anything.

I LOVE the hands on science lessons we get to do in the summer time. The kids didn't shy away from touching the fish at all. They asked lots of great questions and had a bunch of cute theories about the fish and why they were or weren't biting. Liliana was very "lovey" to the fish, like she is with all living things. Here she is telling it "It's okay fishy...don't be scared." We told her we were going to eat the fish and she looked appalled and said "But it has LIPS!" We dropped the conversation. :-)

I would take the kids fishing every day if the weather would cooperate. I love the summer memories that we're making and the quality time we're spending together. It's memories like this that get us through the 10 months of winter!

Fun with Fondant!

I have been dying to try fondant for some time now, but was way too intimidated. Rallying from the success of the cake pops, I decided today was the day. For those of you who don't spend hours watching TLC shows, fondant is a dough-like frosting that the professionals use to create cake masterpieces. I think that's partially why I was afraid of trying it- it's not something the average housewife uses to make a birthday cake. Which is just plain silly. This was SO EASY I'm still in shock! Seriously, anyone could make it...I'd say it's even easier to make/use than regular buttercream icing.

We made cupcakes instead of cake since we wanted to start small. Keep in mind that it's so easy, the kids helped with every part of this. That's Micah's "seal" on the top of the tower.

Marshmallow Fondant
* 1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
* 4 tablespoons water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided

I wanted to do different colors, so I divided this all by four and made one batch at a time.

Microwave the marshmallows in a large bowl for 30 seconds at a time until they start to melt. Add in the water, vanilla extract AND the FOOD COLORING you wish to use (yes, you could just knead it in later, but it's really much easier to do it here.) Stir. Here's what it looks like with the color mixed in and no sugar added yet.

Then stir in the sugar a little bit at a time until you have sticky dough. Put some confectioners' sugar on the table and rub your hands with some vegetable oil, crisco or butter. Knead the sticky dough. As you knead, it becomes easier to work with. Put the dough on the table and keep kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch. I had to add in a whole bunch more powdered sugar to get it to that point (probably because I had divided the recipe and didn't do the math correctly or something.)

I loved making this because it didn't dirty hardly any dishes...a bowl, a spoon and a couple measuring cups/spoons. Granted, the table where I kneaded the dough was a mess...but still, so far easy-peasy and the kids could DEFINITELY help with every step!

Next wrap it up in saran wrap and refrigerate overnight or for as long as you want to. It keeps for a LONG time (weeks and weeks).

When you're ready to use it, let it come to room temperature. If you want to, you can microwave it for like 10 seconds to make it softer. This is where the fun part comes. Roll it out, squish it up, make little cut outs. Basically, if you can make it with playdough, you can make it with fondant. Put cornstarch on the table and your rolling pin to prevent sticking.

The kids LOVED this project! They could have played with the fondant all day. It is REALLY easy to work with. To get it to stick to the cupcakes, you're supposed to put a layer of buttercream frosting on first, but we didn't and it still worked fine. To get fondant to stick to fondant, just use your finger to put on a little tiny bit of water.

Liliana stayed in a chair and was occupied for well over an hour...for those of you that know her, you know what a big deal that is! Even if we did have to bathe her afterwards.

Okay, so some quick tips:

•Do NOT buy the premade fondant. It's expensive and tastes gross. This recipe is easy, cheap, and delicious. You CAN do it!

•Also, you don't need any of the fancy fondant tools they have in the craft stores. We used a regular rolling pin, a kitchen scissors, butter knife, cookie cutters and a jar lid for "tools."

•We discovered afterwards when we were playing with the scraps, that you can mix the colored fondant just like paint to make new colors! Next time I make this, I'll be making red, yellow and blue and then mixing to get any other color I need.
You can see here we started off with the pink, yellow/greenish color, and turquoise and then mixed to get all the other colors.

This truly is an easy, cheap, and fun project! Don't get scared off. I had been waiting for a birthday or special occasion to test it out, but I'm so glad we did it today.

May the Force be with you

And also with you.

Micah is WAY into Star Wars right now. And if you asked him why at first, he'd respond with, "Because Colin likes it." Yep. My son was basing his likes and dislikes on what his peers approve of. And he's 4. At first we were really hesitant about it, wondering when he'd move on to whatever the next craze is, but the more he learns about Star Wars, the more he seems to like it...and now he'll list of a whole bunch of reasons of why HE thinks it's great.

He asked me to sew him a Yoda costume weeks ago...when we were in the middle of packing up our entire house and every free moment was filled with boxes. So I did what any parent would do and pushed it off, saying, "Sure thing...as soon as we get to Nana and Grandpa's." The SECOND we pulled into Nana and Grandpa's house, he asked me about it and continued to harass me daily until I finally bought the fabric.

Here's the thing about my history with sewing. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. And so if I don't immediately succeed at something, I give up entirely. I would rather just say I can't do it, than try and fail. So this past spring, I decided I needed to get over my perfectionist tendencies and give sewing another shot. It doesn't have to be award winning. I don't have to be the best at it. But I can't walk away from something simply because I don't excel at it.

And as it turns out, I really love to sew! I've made two dresses, a tank top and capri outfit, a quilt, a toy organizer and now....a Yoda costume.

Micah LOVES it! Yesterday, he ran all over the house asking everyone "Who wants to hug Yoda???" Our nieces weren't so sure about it, but Liliana thought it was a hoot!

Here he is using "the force."

The fabric was the $1.50 kind from Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart here has a REALLY good selection compared to other ones I've seen. I didn't have a pattern, so I just held it up to Micah and traced around him with a sharpie. And I didn't bother pinning, I just folded the hem over as I went. I wasn't all that concerned about how finished it looked, since the "rugged" look kind of works for Star Wars. We made the head piece by hand stitching fabric onto an old hat, and then sewing on ears made from a pool noodle. I say "we" because by this point, I had reached my frustration level and Jeremy had to help me get the ears on.

What a GREAT husband/dad he is!

I'm glad I stepped outside my comfort zone and gave sewing another try. I've learned that you don't have to do something perfectly to still enjoy doing it. And I'm thankful to be able to pass that lesson onto my children and encourage them to try new things as well.

Cake Pops!

I have it from a good authority (Ahem...Mrs. Ivy Adams) that "cupcakes are out and cake pops are in." If you go to google and do an image search for cake pops you can see photos of amazingly intricate works of cake art. They rock! Now that you're officially amazed...lower your expectations....way lower....

Here's our first attempt on cake pops for a Father's Day fishing themed cake.

It was MUCH harder than I thought it would be. And is definitely NOT a project to do with kids...unless you're just doing something basic, like cake balls with sprinkles.

So here's the general concept:

•Bake a cake, any flavor.

•Crumble it into a bowl. (this part the kids did GREAT at and loved!)

•Mix in some frosting, any flavor. (imagine the cake/frosting combination possibilities!!)

•Roll into balls or whatever shape you need for your pop.

•Put sticks in them if you want them to be lollipop style.

•Stick in the freezer for a few hours.

•Cut out any add on pieces you need. (Most bakers use fondant for this, but I used rolled laffy taffy as I didn't want to mess with learning another new cake technique in the same day.)

So far....you're going to be thinking...oh this is really easy and fun! My kids could definitely do this! Then....

•Dip in melted candy wafers (this is the part where Liliana learned a new word! A colorful one. It's not so bad if you have full concentration. Just spoon the candy melt over the ball and let it drip off. The problem is with trying to get a smooth look. It drips a LOT. Some turned out better than others, and there really seemed to be no one thing that made them work. I think I would do cake pops again, but only if they didn't have to turn out smooth...Elmo- yes! Dora- no.)

•Attach the add on pieces you made to the dipped pop, you can either do this while the melted candy is still wet, or you can wait for it to dry, dip the little piece in more melted candy and then attach. Tweezers are helpful during this.

•Proudly display your cake art and fend off hungry children who will devour in seconds what it took you hours to make.

Helloooo Kitties!

My parents live on a farm, and like every good farm they have farm cats. And like all good farm cats, they produce kittens. Lots and lots of kittens. Liliana loves animals...and babies...and so she LOOOOVES baby animals.

This is Liliana last summer "loving" on a kitty.

We kind of thought she would have improved after a year, and learned to be a little more gentle and a lot less squeezey.

Turns out we were wrong. The only improvement is that, in her opinion, she is capable of manhandling three kittens instead of the one. We had a theory that this would be a self correcting lesson. That the kittens would scratch her and she'd decide all on her own that she didn't want to hold them any more. Once again...we were wrong. Today I looked at her little arms and they are COVERED in scratches from yesterday. She didn't say a word about it. Apparently it was worth it. And this is coming from the little girl who barely bumps her head and needs a band-aid and a popsicle.

While Liliana is our animal lover, Micah could really care less. He's never been into animals and is scared of most dogs. Then along came "Anakin."

This sweet little gray kitty followed Micah everywhere. It was the cutest thing! Micah was so excited and just loves little Anakin so much. Anakin and his siblings were born in this really high up wooden box with tall sides...yet Anakin somehow kept getting out and looking for Micah and following him. We thought that he just really liked Micah. Turns out, the mama cat has abandoned the kittens. His siblings are already too weak to live, but Anakin is a fighter. My dad is trying to assimilate him into a different kitty family. They have three nursing cats right now, so there is some hope for him...but I'd still love some ideas of what to say to Micah should Anakin not make it. Do I pretend it didn't happen, wait for him to notice, and then suggest he ran away? Or do we go with the "it's a fact of life" thing?

(Oh and yes, Micah really does wear that Batman pajama shirt ALL the time. It's the one I made from him and he'll stand next to the dryer, waiting for it to be ready to wear again. Which explains why it's on in every picture of him, morning or night.)

A Yarntastic good time!

The weather this summer so far has been kind of a bummer. We had been looking forward to five weeks of boating, trips to the beach and playing at the great splash pads in the area. Instead, we've been having lots of fun inside and washing clothes a TON since I only packed a couple pairs of pants per person, thinking we'd be wearing shorts the whole trip. The good news is we've had lots of family bonding time still and we've been playing with the kids a lot more since we can't just send them outside.

I was cleaning out a craft closet the other day and found a nice round tan ball of yarn. I had no use for the yarn, but it just seems wrong to throw away as is. Should I let my parents' cats chase after it? Should I force the kids to do some elaborate sock puppet project so we can turn it into hair? Should I move it 3 times in the next 3 years because I just can't throw it away? Nope. I should let the kids destroy my parents house with it apparently.

The only rules or instructions they were given was...this is for you to play with until you start fighting and then I'll throw it away and please PLEASE don't break anything.

They had a BLAST! They started out by just playing catch with each other.

Then they realized that it could unravel while they threw it, so they purposely tried to do that, and would hold onto the yarn with one hand while throwing with another. It was really hard to get a good picture because they were moving so quick!

One of the coolest things about my parents' house is the fact that you can run a direct circle through the living room and kitchen. This makes it perfect for games of tag, peek-a-boo, "I'm gonna tickle you" or in this case....wrap-everything-in-yarn-so-no-one-can-open-the-fridge-or-go-downstairs.

The ball of yarn kept the kids busy for 45 minutes...and was the PERFECT way to use it! Micah said, "I could just play this game all day forever!!!!" It took me about 2 minutes and a pair of scissors to clean up, so I thought it was a great game too.

I just love this picture of Liliana, she has such a zest for life, her enthusiasm is contagious!

Micah Industries

Micah has become quite the little entrepreneur. It started when Micah realized he had birthday money in his piggy bank from 2 birthdays ago. As soon as he knew he had it, it started burning a hole in his pocket. He HAD to spend it RIGHT AWAY! So we spent a long time talking about the value of a dollar and why it's important to think through our purchases.

Here are some things we did to help him grasp the concept of money:

•I put a bunch of change in the middle of the table and would hold up one coin, say the name and have him find all the matching ones. Then I would tell him how much it was worth. We played that game for a long time.

•Then, I would ask him to find me certain coins without holding up a match for him. Like "find me a quarter, or find me one that is worth 5 cents."

•Next, I gave him a variety of change and opened up the candy jar. I'd hold up a candy and say "This candy costs 8 cents, do you have 8 cents?" And if he could figure out the moneys, then he got to buy it and eat it.

•Then I ran through some scenarios with him using props, like "If we go to an arcade, you'll use up all of these quarters and get to play for just a few minutes and get a little tiny toy like this. Or you could go to the store and use these moneys right here and buy a cooler toy like this one. Or you could save your allowance for 3 more weeks, and you'd have enough moneys to buy a super awesome toy like this one. What do you think is the best choice?"

He caught on really quick and has been making some very wise financial choices lately. My favorite thing is that he always asks me, "What would you do if you were me, Mom?" I feel so blessed that he wants his mom's opinion on the decisions he's making (I'll enjoy it while it lasts!)

Which brings us to...Micah Industries.

He realized that he has lots of grandparents around here and that they'll pay him big moneys to do chores. So he set to work:

•Recruiting sales- "Grandpa...can I please wash your car? (pauses for a moment) "And then you can pay me for it!!!!"

•Hiring employees- "Daddy, how 'bout you help me wash the car and then we'll be done even faster."

•Admiring his hard work- "Whoa...this car looks like a Hot Wheels one now!"

•And collecting his payment- "Grandpa...do I have to do the inside too, or can I get my moneys right now?"

He had a lot of fun operating his "business" and it was a great lesson in work ethic and the value of a dollar.

Now he's waiting for us to drive into town so he can buy some Lego Star Wars sets...they're on sale this week, so he's excited that he can get more for his money. That's my boy- shopping the sales!!!

Library Trip

"Lili-nana! Wake up! We're going to the BIG Liberry!" shouted Micah this morning.

We go to the liberry library weekly at least. We don't have Netflix...we use the library. We rarely buy books...we use the library. I love it because it meets all my criteria:
•It's free.
•It occupies them for a good hour.
•Both the kids love it, as do I.
•It's educational and (bonus!) the fun continues afterwords for the week.

Today the kids got to sign up for the summer reading program. It was a different library than they're used to going to, so new toys to play with! Between the trains and riding the "elegator" (elevator), the playtime was just as great as the reading time!

I love watching the kids' different approaches to picking out books. Liliana runs into the room and starts grabbing books...as many as she can carry and whatever ones catch her eye first. She hauls them all over to the nearest seat and starts looking at them until she gets bored and then she repeats. She's definitely an impulsive library shopper.

Micah is much more selective. He's only interested in it if it's about Legos or Star Wars. Occasionally something else catches his eye, but he'll flip through it before deciding whether he wants to commit. He's very thoughtful about his choices. Today we found a book that had BOTH Legos and Star Wars...he looked at it the whole way home.

Here are some things we do that help us make our library time more organized:

•If there are any books that I know I want to get ahead of time, I reserve them. That way the library staff have them pulled out for me and I don't have to try to watch the kids while finding them. Even if they are children's books and we'll be in that section the whole time, you never know when something will go wrong and I'd have to leave without having time to look for mine.

•The kids don't have limits for books, but I do make sure that every book we bring home is readable. I don't want it taking up space in our house if it's too hard for them. Right now they can handle about a paragraph of text per page...anything longer and they start getting antsy.

•We do have a limit of one movie each, plus one movie I pick for a family movie night.

•I've been working through a checklist of 101 books every child should have read to them before entering Kindergarten with the kids. That way,amidst the princess and Dora books, I'm sure they're getting some classics as well. Here are some links to similar ones. Print it off, keep it in your library bag and cross a few off each time.
Top 100 Children's Books
National Education Association's list
New York Public Library

•A friend of mine saves money by bringing with her kids book order forms from school and choosing library books from there. I love this idea!

•The library "receipt" immediately goes on the fridge when we get home. The day before we go to the library, I pull all the books I can easily find, cross them off our receipt and put them in our bag. Then I have a full day to go through and search for any remaining hiding books and we aren't panicking while the kids are waiting by the door.

Jeremy's such a good sport, carrying our big haul!

One thing I haven't figured out and would LOVE some suggestions for is what to do with the classroom books they bring home from school. Since they look like regular at-home books, they often get mixed in with other books and then we're scrambling to find them later. Please leave any tips you have in the comments!!

Pasta Night!

Last night was pasta night! Mostly because I bought a pasta machine while outlet shopping the other day, and I had to test it out RIGHT AWAY! I'd been eying pasta machines for awhile, but most of them are $80+. At the Kitchen Collection I found one for $25 and thought it was worth a shot. Certainly had to be better than my rolling pin and pizza cutter which created log-like fettuccine.

The kids love to cook, as do I. The only problem is I hate having people in my space while I'm cooking. Cooking is my time. Thankfully Jeremy knows this, and he's great about shuttling the kids in and out, so they can be helpers but aren't getting in the way.

First, we had to make the noodle dough. I've learned that it's best to give Liliana some time to scoop her heart's content out before actually starting. After she was satisfied I just pour it all back into the container and then we measure for real.

Basic Pasta Recipe
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. olive oil
water until it just barely sticks together in a ball...about 1/3 of a cup, but add it a little bit at a time.

I just threw it all into the KitchenAid mixer and let it run until it's stuck together. Then I take it out and let the kids knead it. And knead it. And knead it. They LOVED it! (Check out Liliana's concentration.) Then, the dough has to rest for at least 30 minutes before sticking it through the machine (or rolling and cutting by hand).

We let the kids help put it through. Micah cranked and Liliana caught it. It was definitely way more work than doing it ourselves, but they were soooo proud to eat the noodles they had made.

After the noodles were cut, everyone was kicked out of the kitchen so I could finish supper. Toss the noodles into a pot of boiling water and boil for about 5 minutes.

Cajun Chicken Alfredo
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, thawed and diced
1 Tbsp. cajun seasoning
2 Tbsp. butter
1 zucchini, diced
2 green onions, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1-2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh garlic
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup. fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Coat chicken with cajun seasoning and cook in butter. Add in everything else. You may want to adjust the seasonings to taste. I rarely measure when cooking, but this should be pretty close. Mix in the cooked noodles, the starch from them helps thicken the sauce but you can always mix a little flour with some cream and then stir it in if it's too thin or add more cream if it's too thick. It's really hard to screw up, so feel free to mess around with it.

The end result is AMAZING!!! It's not spicy, but definitely has more flavor than regular alfredo and all the color makes it fun. Our niece Danyka LOVED it, she had 3 helpings slurping the noodles each time while we all laughed at with her.