The Fourth of July is less than a month away and Hatherleigh Press has two new books to help you celebrate the red, white, and blue
The 411:
My family is very American. I am the third generation born here and my husband is the first with his family being born in Spain. We are raising our children very American and loved being able to review these books with my kids.
The Handbook For Americans is definitely a must for every bookcase in America. As I read through it I was reminded of how proud I was of one of my bosses pre-children. He was becoming a citizen and I was so impressed with how much he knew of American History. Way more than I did at the time. This would have probably been in the gift basket we created for him when he received his citizenship.
Do you have a preschool in love with Mickey and The Roadsters Racers? Check out their website for more fun and games including printouts for helmets, license plates, juice wraps and more.
While my kids are older I try to stay on top of all things Disney. Working with 1-3 year olds all day you want to know what they watch and especially what they sing about at school. It gives you a glimpse into their world and allows you to get to know them. Knowing the songs they are singing from the shows the watch makes me so happy as it did when my own kids were little.
When my kids were little it was The Mickey Mouse Club House and now it is Mickey and the Roadster Racers which features (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Pluto). These shows are 11 minutes long which 2 shows in the half hour block on the Disney Channel. The show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing in a preschool show.
Like most shows on Disney Mickey Mouse Roadster Racers has some cool looking merch featuring all the favorite characters.
This Gelli Mat and Storage Chair are pretty cool and my preschool class loves it. They love pointing to the characters and saying their names and I find them laying on it relaxing. I can't say I blame them because it is so comfortable. I almost kept it if I could have justified using it in my house. My daughter and I almost fell asleep while laying on it before I took it to work.
I love that it is really easy to clean with a wet paper towel and how vivid the colors are. It is perfect for babies over 1.5 years old. There are two sides to choose from. My class loved the character side.
The chair is so cute. It is easy to put together or collapse and the fact that it has storage space in the bottom makes me love it even more. It is the perfect place for us to keep our classroom books for a quiet reading corner.
I took the mat to work but will take the chair in September when we redo the room for our new incoming class. I cannot wait to see what they think about it.
Vlog of Goddess and I taking out the Mat and chair. We loved it.
Spending the day swimming with my daughter at the spa. My kids are now 13 and 15 and I know that eventually these days will come to an end. The fact that my daughter wants to be with me and hangs on me the whole time we are together in the pool means a lot to me. I have pool dumbbells that I use trying to get some exercise which is difficult when someone is hanging on you but her wanting to be with me instead of on her phone is NOT lost on me. I love every minute and sometimes the extra weight gives me a better workout anyway.
Walking on my deck brings me such happiness. I started a tiny planter garden three years ago. It was super small. Two years ago I added a few small things nothing major. Last year my husband showed interest and I purchased so many more plants this time with my daughter. This year my husband ran with the gardening thing. He started seeds in late February on my dining room table, eventually moving them outside to a makeshift greenhouse. The deck is now full of plants. Flowers and veggies. I cannot wait to see more veggies growing. It is so exciting to see how interested he is in gardening.
Morning calls with one of my dear friends. I love Teresa. She is my daughter's God mother and we were each other's Maid of Honors. We loved together for years and talking to her is probably one of my favorite things. There is such history there that we know everything about each other. We don't get to chat as much as we used to with marathon calls when the kids were small. Probably 3-4 hours a day but in the Summer when she is driving to work and I am not working we can chat like old times. It is one of my favorite things about summer.
My Faith! I am grateful that my family started me on religion. We went to church. We went to Sunday school and while I don't recall us praying I have faith. I have not taken my kids to Sunday School. Don't judge! I wanted them to decide for themselves but we pray. Praying has got me through so many dark times in my life. I love my personal relationship with God and seek his guidance when I need to.
I am grateful to whomever is reading this. You are special. I write for myself and the books I print out based on my blog but it is nice to know someone may be reading this. Bless you.
I am off for the summer but I stopped by to see my preschool class today. Some of moved up but the ones who were still there were excited to see me. I love hearing Hi Miss Maria. One of my students parents gave me the cutest gift to say good-bye. In a pink gift bag there was an adorable photo of her and a card oh and a Target gift card. I love my students but some I have actual love as if they were my own. It is the best job for my heart and I love that I get to hold and love little ones all day.
Making plans with a friend who I don't get to see much while school is in session. I am so excited to hang out with her and her daughter on Thursday. Friends are so important in life.
Being able to spend the Summer with my kids. I am very fortunate. My job is perfect for this reason. They don't need as much staff during the Summer and while it will be tight my years with my kids are coming to an end. They are getting older and eventually boyfriends, girlfriends, jobs and college will get in the way.
Having time this morning to head to the gym. I was there for 45 minutes and did spin, row, arms and legs. I cannot wait to go back. Hopefully I can get 3-4 mornings a week in now that summer is here.
The glorious weather we had today. It was truly incredible. I loved turning off the central air and opening the windows for the fresh breeze to come through today. It was a perfect day.
June 16, 2018 - I didn't take any pictures of us staining the deck and really wish I did. We worked 10 hours on the 16th and 6 on the 17th. It was nice because we did it as a family. It was hot, we raced the sun, I got bit by bugs, my back hurt but I would do it all again to spend time with my husband and the kids doing something we can all be proud of.
June 17, 2018 - Tired, hot and in pain but staining the deck with so worth it.
June 18, 2018 - The house looks amazing so far. Still so much to do but the paint job is
incredible and the deck and chimney looks amazing. I cannot believe I
was living in that yellow house for 20 years and wasn't embarrassed.
June 19, 2018 - Our pretty pansies are so cute. We took this shot because of the little bug inside it.
June 20, 2018 - Time for a graduation haircut. He has come so far since we first started coming to the barber. He is like a man sitting in the chair telling the barber what he wants without input from me.
June 21, 2018 - We are so proud of this boy. He has come so very far, is one of the best people I know and made a lot of friends over the past few years. He received a surprise award from the Chamber of Commerce for all the volunteer work he does at the shelter. I was overcome with how surprised he was and it took everything to keep it together. He spent the night with his peers dancing at a party that ended at midnight. It was the strangest thing to leave the house at 11 PM to go pick up my baby boy at a party ending at midnight. Thankfully the chaperones sent me many pictures and videos of him having the best time. I don't think anyone had as good a time as he did.
June 22, 2018 - The last day of school. My son and the teacher's aid that was with him for the past 3 years. We are lucky to have her.
June 23, 2018 - When the sky looks this beautiful, you have to take a picture or 10.
June 8, 2018 - We love posing and taking shots or dolls. It is fun, creative and a great way to spend time laughing together.
June 9, 2019 - Playing with gravity. Goddess swung her hair as I was taking a photo of her and it looked good but we wanted to get some real height. It took us 5 shots to get this straight up and down but this is basically a great visual of what we do when we are together. We laugh a ton by doing the dumbest things. Sometimes I wonder which of us is the adult.
June 10, 2018 - Checking out Daddy's handiwork. This chimney looks amazing. He did a wonderful job although I think if he ever had to do it again he would hire someone.
June 11, 2018 - Goddess brought this back from school today. This is her self portrait. I love it. It looks just like her.
June 12, 2018 - I love my morning ride. The cows are always out and the colors of summer are upon us. One of the best parts of my day is saying good morning to these guys.
June 13, 2018 - More of Goddess' art work. She scanned a drawing into her drawing pad and colored it. I love how it looks like an animation.
June 14, 2018 - The creepiest tiny spider. It was so yellow it was impossible to miss. Very small too. The darkness on the wood is droplets of water from the condensation on my water bottle. I think it is a green crab spider. Definitely interesting.
June 15, 2018 - We found this bee outside on our deck dead. We took photos so we could get a close up of the fact that it died with it's tongue sticking out of it's mouth like a cartoon bug. The only thing missing was X's over it's eyes.
June 1, 2018 - Our beautiful Luna. My camera loves her as much as we do.
June 2, 2018 - We planted these trees when we moved in. It was supposed to be a temporary home but that was 21 years ago. They are crowding each other so my husband took two down. I was sad about it and when he asked if I wanted to keep a piece I thought about saying yes but what would I do with it. Less is more and I am trying NOT to hold onto everything.
June 3, 2018 - We got this hammock for Father's Day last year. It was nice and big but my husband feels it is a little too big for the deck. He has been good about keeping the bedding rolled up and safely inside when not in use. He used it 3 times and thought it was time to sell it. I paid $200. We sold it for $60. It was still a steal. He wanted to put it up for $40 I added the extra money. It sold in 1 minute and I wish I had put it for $100. Oh well we made someone happy!
I think this was Goddess' first time on the hammock which we put together for the selling pictures. She was sad to see it go.
June 4, 2018 - This is the last shot I took of our visiting duck who we named Desmond before I feel down my front steps collapsing my two ankles with my toes touching the back of my calf. UGH. It was horrible pain and still is. I have an appointment with a Podiatrist Wednesday. Not Desmond's fault. My steps have been broken for years. This was the last straw, they need to be repaired and will be done in July.
June 5, 2018 - I took a shot of my foot to send to my sister. The black and blue isn't horrible. It is on the top of my foot toward my ankle. The pain has been horrible. I think I have a hairline fracture. It hurts all the time.
June 6, 2018 - emond in the background and Goddess collecting some grass for her guinea pig Stormy. Thank God my Loney Girl keeps me laughing.
June 7, 2018 - Farmer Joe takes good care of us and his plants. He goes out after work everyday to talk to them and make sure everyone is hydrated
The 411: We were sent one of the cutest play sets I have ever seen called the Sunrise Farm. It features 15 color play pieces including people, animals and more. I love that everything fits inside the house. When my kids were toddlers I loved these kind of playsets because they were easy to put away and easy to take with us to the grandparents and doctor visits too. Anytime my kids were offline and using their imagination I was happy.
There are two figures, multiple animals a pig, duck, cow, horse, chicken and sheep. I love the size of the pieces are perfect for toddler hands. I think this is sized perfectly for 15 mos to 3 years. My preschool class will love this set. The only thing they will have a problem with will be the closure which is like a button. I wish it was a latch because I feel I will be opening and closing for the kids all day. My Video Review:
