Author: Jenny Irvine

A Mothers Purse!!

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A few weeks back I was cleaning out my purses (yes, plural) and I got to thinking…..

as my husband walked in the room saying; “are you are still doing that? I can’t believe you had all ‘that’ in there!” A mothers purse is like a black hole; it is a story waiting to be told, and is a common denominator that so many of us carry.

We have that first bouncing baby and can’t wait to bring that diaper bag with us everywhere we go…everything is packed in it but the kitchen sink. We pack extra clothes, diapers, wipes, pacifiers (sterilized of coarse), bottles, cups, a snack for mom…you name it mommy’s got it!!

Then, baby number 2 comes along we are determined to lose the bag altogether or at least “shrink” it!! A diaper, a baggie of wipes, 1 outfit for the youngest one (praying the oldest doesn’t have an accident), a snack for the older sibling, and our wallet….bam we are out the door!!

I can honestly say something happens between 1, 2, 3 + kids…the mother becomes wiser? Or is it we just rely more on faith….boy do I pray a lot when I walk out the door these days 🙂

Dear God,
I brought 1 diaper (although, Im carting around 2 in diapers) a few wipes, 1 snack to share, a sippy cup for the first one who asks, and 1 extra outfit in case someone needs it “boy, I hope it fits”….and no toys for entertainment “we are walking entertainment!” Yep, 6 months pregnant, a 4 yr old going on 14, a 18 mo old comedian, and my friends 9 mo old (Peaches) that I babysit for daily…who needs toys?. People really do try to figure out how I gave birth to all of these children….it is hysterical!! O’yes, dear God…I almost forgot ….please keep us safe on this adventure today and pray that I make it back in time for naps!!!
Amen!!!!

I might add….I really do go out packing just enough in a purse (not a bag) for 3 kids!!!

However, my favorite stories are the untold ones lying in the bottom of my purse…a 1/2 eaten sucker stuck on the bottom, the loose change because I certainly didn’t have enough hands to put the money back where it belongs, the 100s of receipts, the random sock someone decided they no longer wanted to wear, the 12 pony holders because heaven forbid they keep them in their hair, the hand sanitizer, the paci (certainly not clean..at this point), a random book, and did I mention the 30 wrappers from snacks I swore I would never buy just to keep my kids quiet in a store!!!

So next time you look at your purse and think….”What a mess!!!” Just think of all those untold stories of your little ones!!

Busy Boo!!

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Boo is always busy…from the minute she gets up in the morning this little girl doesn’t stop!! I could literally take 100’s of pictures of her crazy, just having fun moments of life, but of coarse I have to just pick a few!! This week we finally had a taste of winter so we spent a lot of time at home doing projects, baking, doing school, and playing…..

We played in the snow!!

Boo painted with ice cube water colors made by mommy…I made fun shapes of ice and then we watched them melt. After they melted the girls enjoyed their new water colors.

Obviously, at 18 months old Boo has little interest in the actual letters on things but we did pull out the old name cards from when Pumpkin was in tot-school. We introduced “Bottle Cap Match Up”!! Boo was very happy to have ‘real’ school work like her big sissy. I have seen many posts on the bottle cap match up over the years: I just write letters on top of the cap with a permanent marker and store all the pieces in zip lock bags.

Yes, that is what it looks like my tiny Boo in her friend “Peach’s” jumperoo!! Isn’t that where all 18 mo olds like to hang out??!! Bounce away baby…get rid of some of that energy!!

I am still not quite daring enough to trust Boo with a “rice sensory box” so for the time being we will be using various things to introduce the concepts of transferring, pouring, and keeping things confined!!


This was my favorite part of the week …making yummy “snow ice cream” with the girls!! It tasted great and it was so much fun watching their faces as they dove into the bowl of snow 🙂

That about raps up our Tot School week…below are a few extra’s if you!!

Lindsay at “Bytes of Memory” has a great printable for “bottle cap match up”

Snow Ice Cream

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon snow
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups milk

Directions

  1. When it starts to snow, place a large, clean bowl outside to collect the flakes. When full, stir in sugar and vanilla to taste, then stir in just enough milk for the desired consistency. Serve at once.

Lost marbles…

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Life has been extra crazy these days…is that possible? Boo is cutting her 4 canine teeth and has mastered climbing! Little Peach learned how to pull her self up on EVERYTHING and is cutting her 4 back molars! Lastly, Pumpkin is growing by leaps and bounds everyday and can’t wait for whats still to come! The best part of it all is we have still managed to do school despite the chaos.

Pumpkin and Boo enjoyed our indoor snow activity inspired by Confessions of a Homeschooler. I loved not bundling the kiddos up for an hour to play outside for 20 minutes!! When I told Pumpkin mommy was going to bring some snow in the house to play with…her response was priceless “mommy, Im not sure that’s such a good idea”. My sweet girl that loves things just so thought her mother officially lost her marbles.

It is a rare day that Boo is this focused on any one activity. She really enjoyed transferring the snow into a cup and feeling how cold it was on her tiny hands.

We even built a snowman…he was super cute with cheerio eyes and a raisin nose!

Yep, here it is my proud 18 month old!! I leave the room for 1 second to find her sitting at the table. I must admit, I’m not ready for all the bumps and bruises that come with climbing!!!

Monkey See!! Monkey Do!! This chair was one popular place this week…that’s right the little Peach learned to pull herself up on the same chair that K. Bear learned to climb…hmm? Im thinking this was a conspiracy between them to make all my hair turn gray!!

I’ll fix them… Boo and Peach let me introduce you to a pack’n play!! I have to admit all of the kids had a blast with this thing set up in the living room. I had no idea a pack n’ play could hold 3 children and entertain them for so long. Throughout the day it served as everything from a fort to an airplane going to Florida.

Here is the Peach saying “hello”!!

I often try to do as many activities together with the exception of Pumpkins core curriculum (at which time the little ones are napping, having playtime, or doing tray activities). This one got a bit messy…I won’t lie. Although, I have done cookie cutter painting with Pumpkin before this was Boo’s first experience!!



The finished product came out beautifully!! My favorite part of any “group” activity in our home is watching how well my children work together. Of coarse my kids have their hair pulling fights and plenty of squabbles on any given day. However, one of the joys of homeschooling is having the ability to watch them grow, learn, and nurture one another everyday!! Making the best of those “hot tempered”moments and turning them into something great.