DNA

DNA is a funny thing. I had no idea little girls come pre-programmed with fashion sense. Wednesday afternoon I told Gillian she and I would be going to the Moms Talk meeting at church on Thursday morning. Knowing how she gets nervous about being separated from me, I started reminding her of all the friends she knows that would be in the play room with her. She looked perplexed. Then, disgruntled. I kept talking, trying to bring up the mood, but it wasn't working. Finally I said "what's wrong?" The answer:

"But what will I wear??"

Pink Party Pictures

Happy Gillian, with her Birthday Crown headband, princess shirt and pink cupcake with pink candles! Happy 3rd Birthday!

After about an hour of swimming we had burgers and hot dogs, chips and watermelon, with cokes and pink lemonade, of course. (well, that was mainly the kiddos.) Here's Gillian with Auntie Annette.

Gillian explaining why we didn't actually have fire on the pink candles. (because it was too windy was the official explanation, because Mommy forgot matches was the real reason.) We had two varieties of cupcake, strawberry with light pink buttercream frosting, and chocolate with a darker pink frosting. Gillian helped put the pink heart sprinkles on top. We also had little toothpick paper crowns to decorate with, and, of course, the pink princess muffin cups. Because we were at the pool I elected not to bring out my crystal cake stand. But that would have been precious!
On the tables, before lunch, I had Oreos with pink filling, the Princess Pops and Princess fruit snacks, and a giant bowl of cut-up watermelon. All pink, all the time! The kids took swimming breaks and snacked before we had lunch. You can barely see the pops in ziplocs on the table, as well as the Princess Fruit Snack package.

Treat bags for boys and girls... The Girl bags were a cinch. They contained more Princess fruit snacks, wands, irridescent bracelets and necklaces, soft peppermint candies in pink wrappers that said "Princess," and peppermint lollipops that I made in a Princess Crown mold. I found those at Cake Carousel, where I bought the pink chocolate melting chips and lollipop sticks. They were so cute. Unfortunately they were a little melty by the end of the party. Boy bags had a "Sorcerer Wand," aka baton, and sporty boy bracelets instead of the jewelry and princess wands. Annette brought these cute animal hats, which the kids loved. Not so princess-themed, but a big hit!

I think the best thing about this party was the kids felt free to come to the tables and grab a cookie, or piece of watermelon and a pink lemonade juice pouch during swimming time. So there was a very relaxed atmosphere (think pool!). After lunch, while the kids were still gathered around the tables, I brought the cupcakes out of the fridge and you would have thought I'd just presented them with the queen's own tiara, to hear the oohs and aahs and see the smiles. That made the 4 hours in the kitchen worth it. Of course, the time with Gillian "helping" in the kitchen was pretty fun too.

Pink Party prep

Berry season is here! I cannot even tell you how many pints of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are being consumed around here. It is the mainstay of Gillian's diet lately. LOVE them! Here's a short list of what we're doing with them:

in yogurt, with and without granola

in cereal

in cottage cheese

on ice cream

with whipped cream

dipped in chocolate (oh yes!)

baked in breads and muffins* - recipe to come

in cobblers and pies

I am really working on a savory component that would incorporate some kind of berry. Suggestions?

Speaking of strawberries, we have a big ole party coming up. We are having fun planning Gillian's "pink" party! Her third birthday is Friday, and I cannot believe it. Meanwhile, while I'm in denial, we've been assembling a cache of pinkness. We found Oreos with pink filling, pink princess candies, pink candles, pink magic wands, pink necklaces, candy molds for pink princess popsicles, and a great recipe for pink strawberry cupcakes. I will try my hand at those Friday. update to come.

Summer Games

One of Gabe's teachers sent home some lists of games to play over the summer.  There are online and board games which she recommends, all that use different creative and critical thinking skills.  We've been trying, as a family, to play more board games lately, especially with our budget shrinking and our kids' brains developing.  So far we have had great success with Sorry and Jenga.   I am looking forward to working our way down this list.  

If you have any suggestions of others, please let me know!

Games

1.  PDQ, by Gamewright.  The pretty darn quick word game.

2.  Quiddler, by Set Enterprises.  A short word game.

3.  Whatzit?, by Milton Bradley.  

4.  Taboo, by Milton Bradley

5.  Oodles of Doodles, by Think Fun.  The fast drawing use your noodle game.

6.  Apples to Apples, by Out of the Box Games.  A game of hilarious comparisons.

7.  Guess Who?, by Milton Bradley.  The original mystery face guessing game.

8.  I Spy Eagle Eye, by Scholastic.

9.  Blink, by Out of the Box Games.  A game of matching shape, count or color of cards.

10.  Matching Madness, by Cranium.  Matching shapes, patterns, numbers and colors.

11.  Blokus, by Educational Insights.  A strategy game for the whole family.  A Worldwide award winner!  (also highly recommended by Gabe's Reach teacher.)

Online Brain Games for Kids

1.  DANA - www.dana.org -- http://www.dana.org/resources/brainykids

Check out the "Brainy Kids Online" section for games and activities, as well as a "virtual lab" to help your child learn more about the human brain.

2.  Games for the Brain - http://www.gamesforthebrain.com  -- From Mahjongg Solitaire and Chinese Checkers to trivia games and crime scene scenarios, there's a wide variety.

3.  Fun Brain - http://www.funbrain.com -- Web books and comics, movies, and classic fun brain games to keep kids interested.

4.  Kaboose - http://resources.kaboose.com/games/index.html

The tutoring section of the site offers educational games for kids, as well as word puzzles, language builders, online stories, online musical games and mazes.

5.  LearningRx - http://www.learningrx.com -- Offers free downloadable copies of Think Magazine and LearningRx Magazine that contain fun brain-building games to take on the road or use at home.

6.  Math.com - http://www.math.com/students/puzzles/puzzleapps.html -- A world of math online.  Games including Peg Solitaire, a maze generator and other math-based games.

7.  Discovery Education - http://www.discoveryeducation.com  -- See the Home Resources section for lessons and tutoring broken down by subject: math, science, social studies and English. 

8.  Kids Sites - http://www.kidssites.com -- A clearinghouse of sites that includes a section of games for younger kids.

9.  Cool Math 4 Kids - http://www.coolmath4kids.com -- Touting itself as "an amusement park of math and more," this site offers math games, brain benders, math problems, a math dictionary, times tables and more.

flashbacks

Don't you just love introducing kids to things from your childhood?  Take, for instance, candy.   Taste must be one of the simplest and most enthusiastic methods of transporting backwards in time.  When I think of lollipops, it is always either the Life Savers pops with the hole in the center (backseat of Dad's giant blue car, legs sticking to vinyl) or Tootsie Pops (Halloween.)  Didn't everyone learn to suck for a while, then gingerly test with the molars to see if it was ready to crack?  Sometimes you had to test more than once.  Gillian experienced her first Tootsie Roll center this weekend.   I took this moment very seriously.  It took some convincing, but she learned with her test bite that there was, indeed, a reward hidden in there.  and she was "ESCITED!"  Oh, to have recorded the look on that sweet face when she got that first chocolaty hit.  Here's a shot of her just moments before discovery.

Sometimes being a parent means you let your kids learn for themselves, and enjoy the laugh.  Like Nerds.  No, not the chess club, the candy.  The candy that is so potent sometimes your salivary glands explode a little.   Gabe gave me a good chuckle.  After his cheeks reinflated, he said "What is IN here?"  Then he bravely went back for more.    Atta boy.

Two lessons down, two hundred thousand to go.