On the spectrum~priddymomma

Hey guys!  Time for an update from me.  (I can feel your excitement.  Just hang on to your britches!)  I’ve had a lot going on recently what with trying to settle in to our new house, helping my close friend plan her wedding (which is code for getting bossed around a lot, bless her), and scheduling curriculum for homeschooling this coming year.  Instead of boring you with a list of stuff I did, I decided to just talk about what is at the forefront of my mind as of late:  Cheerio Champ. 

Cheerio Champ at age 3

We knew that Cheerio Champ was on the spectrum by age three.  We caught it long before his pediatrician did, and she wouldn’t have caught it at all if we hadn’t insisted that certain aspects of his development were abnormal and that he had picked up strange tendencies.  After discussing options, we took a watch-and-see approach, which I don’t regret and I think was the best option.  His talking had recently picked up considerably, and he was beginning to form sentences.  He responded well to hugs and affection, there was no sign of hand flapping, and he made eye contact often.   

Things changed late last year.  Our pediatrician retired.  Cheerio Champ had been handed a label (autism), but since we never had testing completed to be “sure”, the diagnoses was unconfirmed.  It wasn’t until we went to our new pediatrician for the first time this past month (Cheerio Champ is now 6) that we discovered our conundrum:  our new doc doesn’t agree with the diagnoses, which means that the resources to help Cheerio Champ are out of our reach.  He doesn't think he is on the spectrum.  Though he didn't say it, I got the feeling he didn't believe in spectrum disorders at all.  Talk about a clash! (outside of that, we got on quite well)  We were hoping to pursue behavioral therapy for Cheerio Champ based on some habits we thought might be wise to break, but the doctor wasn’t agreeing and wouldn’t write the referral.  He did, however, agree that he had ADHD, which was no surprise and frankly obvious (even though assessments were still necessary).  He agreed to write a referral to a behavioral therapist for the ADHD since we didn’t want to use medications (because I am devious like this, but I also legit wish to not medicate my child if possible).  I figured that I could talk with this behavioral therapist and hopefully get if not a diagnoses, than the help my boy deserves.

 

This is one of those habits we are hoping to break.  This was once new paint...

Yesterday was our first appointment with the behavioral therapist.  Cheerio Champ just adores her.  He has talked about her several times since we left, saying that she is super nice.  She whole-heartedly agreed with the ADHD diagnoses, and even went one step further, suggesting that I might have it as well.  I would buy that, though I do a fairly good job of self-management what with caffeine and exercise.  

After interacting with Cheerio Champ and watching him play, she then suggests that perhaps he is on the spectrum.  I could have kissed her square on the mouth.  “YES!!!  But his doctor didn’t agree, even though his previous pediatrician thought so as well.”  She told me she was leaning heavily towards Asperger’s (my thoughts exactly) or autism, and immediately wrote us a referral for testing at Easter Seals.  I didn’t realize how much anxiety and sadness I had tied up with getting him the resources he needs until I practically broke down right there.  I felt so stupid, and it was made worse by the fact that she is trained to be all understanding and what not.  Ugh.  Just quit talking so I don’t have to snot all over myself, okay?!

Our next step is to get him tested.  I guess the first appointment is two hours due to his seeing two specialists on the same day, and the next is a meeting just with the parents to discuss plans from there.  I have to wait to hear from them before I know when his appointment will be.  I’m happy we’re that much closer to aid, but I feel frustrated that there are so many hoops to jump through.  It pains me that to seek treatment for kiddos, most spectrum parents have to go through this kind of thing. 

I'll be back next week.  Bye!

Quick Update

Sorry guys.  I don't have time for a theme post today.  I just wanted to jump on here and let everyone know that I will be out of commission for the next few weeks.  I don't know exactly how long as that will depend on my recovery.  I am leaving soon to drop off A with priddymomma and then off to surgery for me.  I will be back soon hopefully.

Until then, don't miss me too much!

Teaching Your Children Good Deeds ~ Tori

This week we are talking about teaching your children good deeds.
Good deeds aren't hard to do. In fact they are quite easy and simple, and can be as simple as a day to day kindness.
In our house good deeds are defined as helping out around the house without being asked (not including regular assigned chores), making a card for someone sick or to show you care, being nice to others, etc.
The main thing is that all kids love to help. Kids are naturally wired for good deeds. They like the way it makes them feel when they do something good, they like praise they get, they like being helpful. So it isn't hard to get kids to do good deeds.

The one thing we as parents have to remember is that we are the role model for our children. So to teach them good deeds we need to do good deeds. We should involve them. Let them help make chicken soup for a sick family member, let them help sign or send out holiday/birthday cards, show them how to hold a door open for others when you are out and about, etc. Once they see you do good deeds they will start naturally doing them, and it can sometimes become a second nature to them.

Good deeds also vary by age. What is a good deed now will change as they get older. But it's always a good idea to keep your children involved throughout the years, and to continuously set an example for them.
Make sure along the way you have conversations about good behavior, good deeds (and why we do them), and of course teach them manners. Without manners good deeds can be hard to do because children may not understand them. And while children love being praised for good deeds teach them that doing a good deed is not just about getting praise but feeling good about the fact you did something good for someone else.

For instance my son once shared his Ala cart money with another kid at school. He wasn't asked to do this. This kid only had a penny and some other children were making fun of him because he thought he could buy something at the Ala cart with that penny. My son knew everything at the Ala cart costs fifty cents to one dollar and since he had four quarters he gave the kid two. The kid told him thanks and they went up together and each got something worth fifty cents, sat down together and enjoyed their snack. A new friendship was made, and my son felt so good that he could help someone out.

For young children focus on good deeds. Let them watch cartoons where the characters do good deeds, let them read books focused on good deeds. Ask them questions about what they watch or read. Here's a few of our favorites:

Become involved. Ask your child: "Why do you think so and so did that good deed?" "What was the good deed or deeds done in this cartoon/book?" "How do you think that made he/she feel once they did that good deed?" "How would you feel to do a good deed like that?" "How would you feel if someone did a good deed like that for you?" etc. There is no limit on how you and your child can get involved, and the discussions are limitless. I know a lot of parents even have a "Good Deeds Day" where you do a certain amount of good deeds for someone in a day. So just know the possibilities are limitless! :)

What are some good deeds you focus on in your house? Do you have any examples of good deeds?

Teaching your kids to do good deeds~priddymomma

How do you teach your kids to do good deeds?  I guess you should probably start by deciding what it is you consider a good deed.  For our family, it isn’t that complicated.  I expect our kids to display kindness to each other and to others.  That is basic stuff they can understand at any age and that can grow with them in complexity as they are ready.  Today, it might be not pulling your sister’s pigtails.  Ten years from today, it might be volunteering at a soup kitchen.  An action brought about by kindness and love would be my definition of a good deed. 

Now that you’ve identified what you consider a good deed to be (and you don’t have to agree with my definition by any means, but for the purposes of this post, we’ll assume you do), you have to decide how to teach to you children what you know of the subject.  In this case, I need to teach my children about kindness and love.  Lucky for me, I’ve been teaching my kids about both of these things all of their lives.  The first moment I held each child in my arms after they were born (even arguably sooner), I began teaching them what I know about love.  With every boo boo that needed a kiss and every wounded feeling I had a kind word for, I’ve taught them about kindness.  I’m willing to bet your kids know a lot about both of these things from you as well.  

Point out good deeds that yourself or others perform.  Kids learn best through imitation.  If they see you hold open a door for an elderly person, when they are able it is likely they will do the same.  Let them see video spotlights on a great deed someone did, or let them read an article.  Expose your kids to books where someone chooses to do something kind for someone else.  Ask them how they think different characters feel at intervals throughout the book.  Teach manners (so few people use them these days!), respect, how to take the high road in a disagreement, and remember the Golden Rule:  treat others the way you would like to be treated.

The final step is performing the good deeds themselves.  I believe that if you’ve prepped your kids, they will take the steps without further measures.  If you would still like to nudge them a bit, help them brainstorm ideas for good deeds they could do for family, friends, animals, and the community at large.  Listen for what they sound passionate about, and encourage those deeds.  And don’t forget to take them along on any volunteering you do when appropriate. 

Do you agree with my definition of a good deed, or do you have one of your own?  Comment and let me know!

That’s it for me this week, folks!  Thanks for reading.  

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Getting Your Kids Away From TV & Video Games ~ Tori

In today's world there is a lot of controversy over kids and TV/video game time. From monitoring what your children watch/play to how much they are watching/playing. Wherever you go I guarantee you can always find someone to strike up a conversation on this topic.
This week we are talking about ways to get your child to turn off the TV and engage in other activities.

Before we go on let me first say that I hope nobody takes this as a lecture. I am in no way perfect, and I admittedly do allow my kids daily TV and video game time. They are given roughly an hour or two of television time per day (depending on school breaks, weekends, rainy days, etc) Those hours are for watching TV or playing video games not that many hours dedicated to each separate one. Some people think it's a little excessive, but I don't think it's that bad. That gives each child (I have two) thirty minutes each for a personal preference of show or video game. Usually I do time in the morning and then time in the evening. Sometimes they can earn movie's they are allowed to watch also. As a stay at home mom this can come in handy for me because I don't have anyone to help me with my children, and this keeps them out of trouble for a time when I need to get certain things done (mopping, scouring bathrooms, etc).
We also have family movie time once a week where we all sit down to watch a movie, have popcorn, etc.

But it is extremely important to get those kiddos out from in front of the television all the time. Here's a few things we do in our house that we have found to be quite successful:

• "Creative Time". We like to get this time in every day. Even if it's only for 15 or 20 minutes. This is a time when our kids can choose to either paint, color, draw, play play dough, etc. We always make sure to keep stocked up on these types of things. It's a fun time to stretch your child's imagination and they can create anything they want.

• Reading time. This is something we do every day. We sit down and read with our kids daily out loud and help them along. They learn new words, get to hear great stories, it helps build their vocabulary, and build their reading skills. After about thirty minutes of this (or more depending on the day or how much time we have) we try to get an additional twenty to thirty minutes of "quiet" reading time. They know during this time they can look at any books they want and look at pictures or read the books. This gives mommy and daddy time to also sneak in some quiet reading time, and it's something we always try to do together. The kids think it's great that we all get to sit on the couch and just look at books, read, and relax. So it's always good to make sure your child (and you) have plenty of books also.

• Outdoor activities. These are also a GREAT way to get your child out from in front of the television. What child doesn't love the outdoors? You can go to the park as a family, go outside for creative time, reading time, do some outdoor exploring, or just play games out in your backyard. Go bike riding, go swimming (if it's warm enough), go on a picnic. Anything to connect as a family and unwind. It is a great way to get your kids out from in front of the old tube, and they will undoubtedly burn off some of that extra energy. This isn't always the best to do on rainy days, but still an option. Even in the winter go out and have a snowball fight, build a snowman, make an ice castle. In the rain if it's warm and there's no severe storms or lightening go jump in a few puddles even if it's just for ten minutes. Sail a paper boat in a puddle. It may get wet and sink or not float for more than a few seconds, but it's still fun. :)

• Fitness. Get your child active. There are tons of things kids can do to be active. From things like yoga, jumping jacks, etc., you can also do a little dance party. It is so much fun, and something your kids will definitely remember.

• Cooking. Let your child help make stuff. My kids LOVE helping bake bread, muffins, cupcakes, cookies, scrambled eggs, cakes, spaghetti, etc. The list is limitless really. And there's tons of kid friendly recipes your child can engage in. There's tons of kid friendly cookbooks at your local library, or that you can order for you child. There's ideas on Google, Pinterest, and YouTube as well.

• Gardening. Even if you don't necessarily have a yard space to work in there are always potted plants. Start a little indoor herb garden or plant some indoor or outdoor plants in pots. We live in an apartment right now so while we don't have yard space to work in we are working on a balcony garden. Sure it's all in pots but it's tons of fun for the kids and us. Also we get our own homegrown fruit! Right now we have tomatoes and strawberry plants. We also have some potted flowers out there. We have bigger plans for next year but for the time being it's working out great with what we have. The kids take a lot of joy and feel very accomplished to see the actual fruits (or vegetables) of their labors. ;) It's a way to keep them busy all the while doing something big and productive. Or let them play in a pot of dirt. Build some mud pies or let them make a tiny fort or camp ground in a giant pot. There are tons of ways to have fun with this.

• Board games & Puzzles. A bit old fashioned? Maybe, but also a lot of fun. We are huge into board games and puzzles around our house. The kids love them too. We do puzzles, play card games, board games, and it's so much fun. Sometimes the kids don't even want to watch TV or play video games because they want to play a card or board game. And don't forget you can set up dominoes and knock them down and build card houses too! Don't let the electronic filled modern world take away some of the old time favorites. :)

And those are just a few of the things you can do at home. There are many other ways to pull your kids out from in front of that TV and take that game controller out of their hands. If it's something fun enough you won't even get any complaints!

Now some of you may be thinking of how in the world you could come up with tons of ideas for these types of activities. What if your kids get bored with these things, and how do you make them more interesting?
Well that's where the world wide web comes in handy. As bad as the web can be it can also be a wonderful resource. If you find yourself running out of ideas, or just looking for something different and fun to do with your children get online and search it.
There's Google, there's YouTube, there are tons of blogs out there, and best of all there is Pinterest.
Pinterest is chock full of thousands of ideas. I am a huge Pinterest fan. I don't get to get on there as much as I use to but it is so easy to use and if you haven't tried it yet I highly recommend it.
Just go to Pinterest and type in the search bar what you want to know:

• Rainy Day Activities
• Fun in the rain
• Kids DIY Projects
• Painting with kids
• Make your own play dough
• Outdoor activities to do with your child

You get the picture I'm sure. There are tons of ideas, and you will be so glad to have it as a resource. We have had a lot of fun with Pinterest, and it has also been a life saver when the norm becomes a little dull or boring now and again.

With that I will leave you. I hope you've found our articles and advice to be helpful too you. Feel free to share how you get your kids from out in front of that TV. What are some of your children's favorite activities to do indoor and/or out?

Ideas of ways to increase home learning activities

I am going to put a little twist on my thoughts about home activities, I am going to give some ideas of ways to help your child learn at home...some may be pretty obvious, but its always nice to have a refresher ;)

Recognize teachable moments- Learning moments happen all day long! Make everything you do or say a teachable moment: Bed time, bath time, driving in the car, dinner time, and most importantly play time! 

Describe everything- One way to make everyday a teachable moment is to describe EVERYTHING! Use colors, shapes, sizes, comparisons,and portions.

Music- We LOVE music!! We sing, have dance parties, and play instruments! Music helps speech and gross motor development---make up silly songs about everything, any time of the day.

Flash cards- describing and matching pictures can help children learn through repetition. This is how Keagan learned to read at a young age. (18 months) We started with flash cards, and even though he could not speak clear...he would point body parts or use sign language to read. Laynie has very little interest in flash cards...but loves to match.

T.V. time- We have "screen time" in our house hold. Keagan loves to learn by watching a movie. We often talk about feelings, and why someone may have done this or that in the movie...def helps social skills.

MOVE- teaching your children movement is super important. Aside from just playing outside we like to do nature walks, following the leader games, exercise, ride bikes, tag, and jumping!

Art- We LOVE art. Painting, coloring, beads, and gluing activities to name a few.

Use their words-It is really important for your child's language development to make them use their words!  Do not guess what your child is asking for when they grunt or point. Children learn from example, make sure you speak clear...and slow...I have realized both my children have an issue with rate of speech. It is so fast and they are hard to understand. I did not realize this until their speech therapist pointed it out!

Getting Your Kids Away From the TV~priddymomma

Hey guys!  Nice to have you tune in again.  I know you are just chomping at the bit to know what the topic is this time.  We have for you our tried and true suggestions for getting your child to put down the remote (or game controller) and do something else for a while!  Yay!  Awesome!

Okay, truth time.  I am not the best person in the world to offer advice on this topic.  We do not have cable in our household.  I don’t tell you that because I’m all goody goody about it.  We just decided we couldn’t afford to have cable about five years ago and never looked back.  We don’t miss cable.  We get our news and weather from the internet.  Shows we “have” to watch are eventually available on DVD, and we do own a DVD player (and television.  Don’t be weird.)

That being said, I plop my kids down in front of it daily.  I am a stay at home mom.  I am a homeschooling mother as well.  If you work 9-5, you get a lunch and breaks.  Afterwards, you get to go home and presumably stop working (or at least work on something different).  If you are a stay at home mom or dad (and do not homeschool), you likely send a kid or two off to school during some part of your day.  Me?  My job is 24-7.  I have both my kids ALL the time.  Kids are fighting with each other or bombarding me if I have to pee, I’m the one to get up in the night if the kids need me, and my lunch is usually an after thought when I realize I haven’t eaten and that is way I’m feeling sick to my stomach.  While my kids mean the world to me, they are not my entire world.  I need some time for myself as a person too.  I challenge anyone to listen to as much high-pitched screaming as I do on a daily basis and not want to throw in the proverbial towel.  I will let them watch a movie to save my sanity, yes yes yes.

Cheerio Champ gets video games as well as a movie each day.  *gasp*  The horror!  Yes, well…not every day.  He earns them.  You heard me.  He has chores and knows that we expect a certain caliber of behavior from him.  If he doesn’t keep up his end of the bargain, too bad so sad.  That means if there is a movie that day (and usually there will be at least one), it is mom’s pick and it will be educational.  (Sometimes that is a good thing, sometimes not so much.  There was a recent “naughty” day in which his movie was a lecture on DNA.  While he did take away a bit about protein bonding, he would have much rather watched Frozen).

I do my best to make sure they have other things to occupy their time.  They do a pretty good job of keeping themselves busy (when not demanding things from me of course).  Even when there is a movie playing, the kids like to run off and do something else before making their way back to whatever was on.  I like to think they occupy themselves in part because I have never been one to plan their entire day.  Certain things are set in stone (bedtime, lunch, etc.), but outside of that, whatever. 

I told you all that so that you would know more about the reputability of your activity planner.  Take or leave what I have to suggest to you here, and feel free to comment about some of your favorite busy-making for kiddos!

Princess Cheerio and her art

• Art.  I completely agree with Leslie here.  Cheerio Champ has never been much for drawing or coloring, but he loves to paint.  Princess Cheerio loves everything to do with art, but she doesn’t enjoy coloring books.  She likes to have a blank sheet of paper to put her scribbles to, and as a result, she has a massive amount of fine motor skills.  She is two and regularly holds a writing utensil correctly.  I highly suggest leaving out paper, pencils, markers, and crayons where your kiddos can get them, preferably on a little table or something of that nature.  Insist that the supplies stay there if you like the current color of your walls, floors, carpets, and furniture. 
• Reading.  Again, agreeing with Leslie.  My kids have loads and loads of books.  They spend hours pouring over them.  Cheerio Champ can read and has recently picked up chapter books.  Princess Cheerio can’t read yet, but she loves turning pages, looking at pictures and words, and having someone else read them to her.  Sometimes her bubby even reads a book to her, which melts my heart.  Use your local library if you don’t have a lot of books at home, or if they are getting tired of the same books.  We get each kid ten books a week.  They love it!
• Go outside.  This sounds like a no brainer, but many families never do this.  You don’t have to plan an activity!  When we first moved to our new house, my mother wanted to buy the kids a swing set.  I didn’t want to get one just yet, as I hadn’t planned out where my garden or shed or anything was going to be and had no idea where I wanted a swing set placed.  She exclaimed, “But what will they DO?”  Um…play?  Outside?  While enjoying nature?  Why is this so hard to comprehend?  That floors me.  I played outside for hours on end as a kid.  Granted, I did have a swing set.  While all of us kids spent a lot of time on it, I have more memories of chasing each other around, looking for bugs, and exploring.  Cheerio Champ spends time in his garden patch, watching birds, and playing with designated outside toys.  Princess Cheerio looks at everything.  Our neighbors have horses, she loves bugs, and she likes to pick dandelions.  During the summer, kids can have fun with water.  Snow is great in winter. Leaves to play in during the fall. There are countless things to enjoy.
• Cooking.  My kids love to help cook anything at all.  Great jobs for them include whisking, adding pre-measured ingredients, slicing things with a plastic knife, counting, and getting out ingredients from the refrigerator or pantry. 
• Get them active.  Okay, so this may or may not be away from the tv.  We have some exercise DVDs aimed at kids that we let them watch, but you can also show them how to do it without the movie help.  We also have a home gym, but you don’t need one to share fitness with your kiddos.  Any kid will dance along if your Zumba song comes on the radio.  Our kids love the trampoline.  Jump ropes are super fun and a learning experience.  My family had several pogo sticks when I was growing up.  Go for a walk or a hike or a bike ride.  Try a yoga DVD together (we love Gaiam’s YogaKids series).  Play tag!  Play Simon Says or dance the hokey pokey.  Go swimming or sledding.  Have a tickle fight!  The sky is the limit (unless you are into hang gliding, and then I guess it isn’t).

Here, hubby is teaching Princess Cheerio and Cheerio Champ about tai chi posture

That’s it for me!  If you have any topic requests or comments, we would love to hear from you!  Comment below, or email us at thecaseofthemissingcheerios@gmail.com .

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Ways to Increase Activities at Home. - Leslie

How can we increase the amount of brain-building activities for our children in their day to day lives instead of plopping them in front of the TV for a whole day movie marathon?  I will tell you!  (No, I don't judge you if you plop your kids in front of the TV all day every great once in a while.  TV can be a lifesaver!  With all of the surgeries I have had lately, I know that sometimes it is hard, if not impossible not to have a little help.  Let's face it, we don't always have the luxury of our help coming in the form of another human being.)

Some little things I recommend:

- Keep art supplies on hand.  We have an "artists household".  My fiance is a graphic designer and paints miniature models in his free time.  Sometimes he will fill the table up with art supplies for A to use while he will work on his hobby.  She LOVES it and it builds her creativity.  Be sure to have things like paint, an old shirt they can wear while painting, paint brushes, paper, crayons, kid scissors, stick glue, tissue paper, construction paper, different hole punches, Popsicle sticks, paper plates, googly eyes, etc.  Of course, you don't need ALL of that if you don't want.  However, it is great to have a variety of art supplies to choose from and it comes in handy for impromptu crafts!

- Play dough and different cookie cutter shapes and plastic scissors/rolling cutters.  Look at garage sales and thrift stores especially for things like plastic cookie cutters.  I found a huge box of them at Goodwill for $3 and they work for several things.  Not just play dough.

- Use the internet.  When you are having trouble coming up with more activities to do with your child, websites like Pinterest (click for my profile!) and YouTube can be a wonderful thing!  Most of what I find is on Pinterest, which I'm sure most of you know about or use.  We are a homeschooling family and the resources I have come across have proved to be invaluable.  Just search for activities for whatever age your child is.

- Use what you have and your imagination!  Many parents feel they need to have a bunch of supplies handy to get anything out of a fun activity.  That's not true!  We have come up with random things to do many times, and as long as you and your child are enjoying it, it doesn't matter that it is homemade.

Some of the things we enjoy:

- Bathtub painting.  Squirt some foaming shave cream into a bowl and mix in your choice of food coloring.  Give the child a brush or let them use their hands and stick them in the bathtub.  I love to do this with A.  She just uses the back wall of our bathtub as a huge canvas.  Be careful as the food coloring can discolor your child's skin or your bathroom walls.  We haven't had this problem yet, but it could happen!

- Popsicle stick puzzles.  Tape a row (around 8 makes a good size) of Popsicle sticks together and turn it over.  Draw your own picture or glue a picture that fits all of the Popsicle sticks.  When you are done, separate them (Xacto knives work well if you glued a picture, but any knife will do).  You can then mix them up and your child can figure out how to put them back together.

- Play a game!  We have a few preschool-aged board games that A loves to play.  There are ones like Candyland, Uno Moo, Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, and Matching games.  Simple card games like Go Fish! are also a favorite.  You can even make up your own game with your own rules.  The options are limitless!

- Reading.  I don't think anyone can read too much.  Your child can choose an interesting book and read to themselves.  If they can't read alone yet, then pick out a few to read together.  After all, it is summer!  Check out your local library to see if they offer a summer reading program.  Most of the time you'll be able to read books and get awesome reading swag all at the same time.

- Take something they have said and make a learning activity out of it.  Recently, whenever A asks a question about something, we make that subject into a learning subject.  She is asking a lot of questions right now and loves to learn new things.  You don't have to be a homeschooling family or an unschooling family to benefit from learning things together.  For example, A has been very interested in how her body works.  We have a few books that we will explore together when she has a question about something specific and YouTube has an array of videos that can explain most information in a fun and kid-friendly way.  We will read together and watch a few videos, then together we will explore where things are located on her body and have a discussion about it.  This often leads to hours of learning.  (Where is my heart?  Where does food go after I swallow it?  What is this bump between my shoulder and wrist called?  What is breathing?)  She recently asked, "What is a goose?"  Things like that are excellent gateways to learning.

- Sorting.  This is a Montessori concept that I like a lot.  You don't have to do Montessori to get anything out of this activity.  The truth is, young kids LOVE to sort things out.  Sometimes I will give A some colored puff balls and a pair of tiny tongs and let her sort them all out.  This makes their little minds work to categorize and identify objects.  This activity can last for a few minutes or a few hours, depending on your child's interest.  It is definitely worth trying, though.

- Stickers.  Give them a pad of stickers and a blank book and let them go to town.  Just like the sorting activity, they are often learning to identify different objects and sticky pieces of paper are a fantastic medium for them to do it with!

I hope this post has given you some ideas for things to do at home with your child.  If you want, feel free to check out my Pinterest boards.  I love to pin kid activities!

Kid Crafts!

As always, if you have a suggestion for a topic you would like to see us talk about, leave it in the comments or send us a message at thecaseofthemissingcheerios@gmail.com.

Until next week!

10 Things My Kids Do Now That I Will Miss As They Get Older ~ Tori

This is a hard topic for me because there are so many more things than just 10 that I will miss as my kids get older. It's so hard for me to even pick. So I'm just going to list the first 10 things that come to my mind, hopefully that's okay.
I'm being a big baby about this post and getting a little sentimental and emotional just writing out these things. haha

1. Cuddling- I love my cuddle time with my kiddos. We often snuggle up on the couch with books, or to watch TV. Especially during family movie night then both love snuggling in my arms one of each side of me.

2. Holding my hand- I love when they hold my hand. Especially those times where they really want to show me something they have discovered and they reach out to grab my hand. Also there's times they will just hold my hand for really no reason at all, and it just warms my heart.

3. Telling me every little detail about everything- It doesn't matter if it's something they seen, read, did that day an idea they had, etc. I love them filling me in on every single detail about whatever they want. Even if they are gross details. (Which when talking two boys you will get info on boogers, burps, etc lol). Right now I can ask about school or their thoughts and they explode with information. I know later they will probably just give me one word answers if any at all. :(

4. Their Hugs & Kisses- While I hope that they will always give me hugs and kisses I know that as they get older this will decrease or go away. Especially before bedtime when we do our goodnight hugs and kisses. Right now if I'm sad or feeling sick they love on me and give me hugs or kisses on the cheek. One instance I was sick with the stomach flu and could hardly get off the couch, they both went and got me a pillow, covered me with a throw blanket, and made sure I had a bottle of water near in case I got thirsty. They also kept giving me plenty of hugs and telling me how much they loved me.

5. Pictures they make- Both my boys are always making me pictures. Whether we are painting, drawing, coloring, or doodling I know each of them will send a picture my way. It really warms my heart. I keep as many of them as I can and probably have just about every single one. Of course I can't hang them all up but I have a tote that is almost over bursting with pictures. lol I take them out from time to time and look at them all. I always give them tons of praise and encouragement and their little eyes just shine. I love it.

6. Their silly crazy jokes- Even if their jokes make no sense at all I love their excitment over them. Their crazy abandon and how they don't care what anyone thinks. They just want to make people laugh. Whether the jokes make sense or not I always give a big laugh and they just get so thrilled over it, and they laugh and laugh. They get those little giggles going, and I just love it.

7. Their view on the world- I love my kid's view on the world. They really do make us take the time to stop and smell the roses. They notice so many small details that we would otherwise miss. Whether it's a butterfly on a flower, an interesting shaped cloud, a bird in a tree, etc. I love that they see so much of the world and take such enjoyment in it. Especially with a life that can get so hectic and crazy. As adults it is so easy to miss all those little things.

8. My children wanting to be with me all the time- Sure all us parents grumble now and again about never getting any private time. I am guilty of it also. And while it is good for us all to get a little time, I also love when my children want to be with me. It warms my heart and I just feel so loved by them. I know as they get older it they won't want to spend as much time with me. Now I can ask if they want to run here or there with me, and we can do all kinds of things that they see fun. But as they get older they may not want to spend as much time with their "old" mom. LOL Whether they go through the embarrassment stage, or just want to be with their own peer group. I'm enjoying our time while we have it.

9.  The way they say certain things. My boys are both so silly and are always coming up with some of the craziest, funny things. They often catch me off guard and I usually find myself in a fit of laughter. Their phrases or words, and even their pronunciations. I just love all of it. Especially some of their pronunciations. I know sometimes I should correct them, but to be honest it is just so cute I hate to! LOL Like how my oldest will sometimes say awlsome instead of awesome. Or how my youngest will say wapkin instead of napkin. Those are just a couple instances. Or how each of them will have the craziest thoughts or questions that will catch you totally off guard. It's a lot of fun.

10. Everything- Parenting is very bittersweet. It's the greatest feeling in the world. Being a mom is so much more than I ever imagined it to be. I never felt it was possible to feel so much love. Putting that feeling into words is so hard because there are no combination of words to do the feeling justice. My heart just swells with love for my children. They are amazing, funny, smart, caring, and wonderful. I am so proud of them, and I know they will both do great things. But I admit I always get a little nostalgic at times because time really does speed by, and they really do grow fast. One minute they are tiny little babes you hold in your arms, the next they are toddlers getting into everything, and before you know it your wondering what happened to time. I am just so thankful to be Blessed with my two little loves. I will miss everything about them being kids. :)

So with all that said and with sentimental tears in my eyes I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

Elizabeth Stone — 'Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. '

10 Things My Kids Do Now that I Will Miss Later On~priddymomma

Hey guys!  I can’t pick just ten things I’ll miss when both my kids are grown!  I’m going to pick ten for each of them.  Sue me.

10 Things I’ll miss about Cheerio Champ:

1. How he thinks rude noises and stupid jokes are funny.  To be honest, being a boy and being in this family, he will probably still laugh about such things when he is older.  I’m sure there will be more eye rolling and reluctant laughter though.
2. The way he gets so interested in books, movies, and video games, and then has to tell me every little thing about them.  Later, it will be like pulling teeth to find out if he did anything interesting that day.
3. All his questions.  He is still learning about the world, and some of the questions he asks me make me laugh.  Kids have unique perspectives.  I will miss him calling blimps “barrel-kites.”  I think it is a better name for them, truthfully.
4. How he won’t touch worms, but his little sister will.  I’m sure he’ll grow out of that, but ha ha!
5. His crazy confidence as he belts out tunes, and his need to read the lyrics to be sure he has the words correct.  I love that we’ve managed to bring him up in an environment that hasn’t made him self-conscious about his singing abilities, so he feels comfortable belting out numbers any time he has a song in his heart. 
6. How crazy gentle he is with his little sister.  Yes, there are times that I have to rescue her from him, but there are countless times when he takes her hand and protects her or shows her how to do something.  Like when he took her hand and helped her across our yard, steering her around a hole.  Or when mom and dad were cooking and didn’t have the spare time to read her a story she wanted to read, and he pulled her into his lap to read it not once but twice just because he didn’t want her to be sad.  I’m sure he will always protect and love his sister, but not so openly and honestly.  And later there will be more name calling and such. 
7. How much he loves his uncle.  Cheerio Champ is so much like my brother when he was growing up.  They are always complete goof balls together, and they have the same ridiculous grin when they are goofing off.  I love seeing the two of them roughhousing and being dorks.
8. How two of his biggest interests are cooking and gardening.  Eventually there will be other, less productive things that entertain him, but I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job every time he asks to go see his garden patch to check up on his pumpkins.
9. His love and respect for his dad.  I hope that doesn’t go away.  In his eyes, his dad is the coolest person that ever was.  He wants to be just like him, and he constantly repeats phrases that he heard his daddy say.  When dad says he’ll do something with him, his world is complete. 
10. How he hugs me when he’s feeling like he needs a hug, and not hugging me just because I told him to.  He wraps his arms gently around my shoulders and doesn’t even squeeze.  He just holds his arms gently around me while I hug him tight, and he closes his eyes and smiles.  My sweet little man.   

10 Things I’ll Miss about Princess Cheerio:

1. Her curiosity.  She is interested in literally everything.  I love being able to introduce new things to her. 
2. How she is a complete and absolute goof ball at times.  She makes faces, starts tickle fights, and makes the strangest noises just to be silly.  She’ll eventually care a bit more what she looks like and what other people think.  I’ll also miss how serious she is sometimes.  It is just so cute on a two year old.
3. Her love for water.  Maybe she won’t grow out of this one.  She loves anything to do with water.  The downside to this primarily is that she makes messes with water any time we’re not looking.  That makes it sound like growing out of it would be a good thing, but you haven’t seen the joy on the girl’s face when she can splash. 
4. When she asks me to cuddle her.  She is my little cuddle bug.  I love cuddling with her, and boy am I going to miss that later! 
5. The way she mispronounces things or slurs words together in super cute ways.  “Scooby Snacks” become “Coobee Nax,” for example.  I don’t even want to correct her. 
6. Her belly laugh.  I will miss the heck out of her belly laugh when she gets tickled.  It is contagious, and always makes me laugh too.  She loves being tickled, and regularly asks for me to tickle her.
7. How much she loves her taggie blankie.  I made it for her, and she treasures it over the store bought one I picked up around the same time.  It looks truly awful these days, but she takes it everywhere.  She twirls the ribbons around her finger as she falls asleep.
8. Run-hugs.  We have this thing we do, where she’ll stand across the room and open her arms wide, a big grin on her face.  I’ll do the same thing while sitting or kneeling.  She then races across the room and jumps into my arms, while we giggle and hug and say “aww! I love you.”  I will miss the pants off of that tradition. 
9. How much she loves papaw.  She took right to him.  She is papaw’s little girl, and everybody knows it.  Other than me and my husband, he is the only other person she will do the run-hug with.  I’m sure she’ll always love her papaw, but you know.  Something special about wee ones and grandparents.
10. How she gives me love when she knows I’m feeling upset.  She’ll come up behind me and hug me really gently, or she’ll pet my face or hair and tell me she loves me and that it is okay.  It always reminds me of my blessings, and how time really flies. 

Whoa!  That was really difficult.  There’s something in my eye! 

I encourage you, reader, to make up your own list.  It will be great to look back on, and maybe one day, you can share these with your kiddos and have fun remembering.  :)

10 Things I Will Miss - Leslie

I thought I was going to have a really hard time with this week's topic.  Silly me.  Well, it IS a hard time in that it makes me a nostalgic, blubbering mess, but that's beside the point.

So, I guess I will just jump right in.  Here are 10 things that A does that I will miss when she grows up.  There are the duh things that just about any mom will miss, so I tried to put in things that A does personally instead of those.  I may have cheated and added a couple, though.

1. Ask me to scratch her back as she falls asleep.

Fiance has always been huge on having his back scratched.  His grammy used to do it to him and it seems as though that has now passed on to A.  I could lie there all night scratching her back and she would be perfectly content.

2. Her making silly faces.

Now, I know anyone would like the silly faces made by their child.  It's in the fine print of the parent handbook, after all.  However, I especially like A's faces because they come so naturally to her.  She's not just scrunching her face up and calling it silly.  Well, not always at least.  She is able to cross one eye at a time, and it makes for the most hilarious silly faces.

3. The way she says in her little voice, "Mommy will you play with me?" and "I love you, mommy."

Yeah.  I know, I know.  Duh.  But that VOICE.

4. The funny things she says.

For example, when I was getting her to bed tonight she said, "Mommy, do you know what Chinese cats say?"  "Uh, no not exactly.  What do they say?"  "We are Siamese if you please!"  "Do you mean Siamese cats?"  "No!  Chinese cats!"  Maybe that's not as funny now that I have written it down, but again, that VOICE.

5. The dimples right below her eyes when she scrunches her little face up.

She has her grammy's dimples on the apples of her cheeks rather than ones you normally see right by the mouth.  I know those dimples will be there forever, but there is something inherently cute about the way they look on her face now, which is little and toddler-y.  That combination definitely won't be there forever.

6. The joy on her face when her daddy flies her around the living room or carries her on his shoulders.

She LOVES to be airborne for some reason.  It scares the crap out of me, but it also makes my heart swell when I see just how happy she is in that moment.  Is it possible to be happily terrified without being happy that you're terrified?  If so, I'm that.

7. Her perfectly imperfect drawings.

She draws just like you would expect a three-year-old to draw.  But I love it!

8. Reading with her before bed.

Now this one is one of those that will probably not go away.  However, I know I will miss the way it is now.  We co-sleep and there is something very comforting about reading a book with her and then cuddling up to go to sleep.  Not to mention that I love how my love for reading is rubbing off on her.

9. How unbelievably excited ice cream makes her.

I mean, unbelievably.  Most kids are happy about ice cream.  This kid, however, is more than that.  The other day I thought she was going to break her face with her huge smile.  Yes, that excited.

10. Doing impersonations of her loved ones.

This is one of the more recent things she does and is quickly becoming my favorite.  My nephew introduced her to that song What Does the Fox Say? and that evolved into everyone asking her things like, "What does mommy say?" and "What does Papaw say?"  My favorite is when we ask her what her aunt Gretchen says.  Her response is always, "*mimicks high pitched voice* I'm going to let A have my Nook to play on!"

So there you have it.  The 10 things I will miss when A gets older.  I dread her getting older, but I absolutely love to witness the person she is becoming.  I am so proud to be her mom.

I'm not crying, I promise!

As always, send any new suggestions to thecaseofthemissingcheerios@gmail.com or leave them in a comment.  See you next week!