Going to the Drive-In...

So me being a stay-at-home mom I am always trying to think of some things that are inexpensive to do.  Most of this summer its just Adyson and I this year. I do want us to have fun doing things, but I do not want to do the typical summer activities. I want to find native places, historical sites, and they must be CHEAP!

So as I sit racking my brain on what Adyson and I can do this summer, 

I keep forgetting I live so close to a DRIVE IN MOVIE THEATRE!!!! My theatre is awesome, you can bring your own food and drinks (if you buy the food pass). So I decided it was time to take her to her first Drive in movie!!! So you know me I always talk to Adyson about everything (she's not much on surprise situations) so I gently bring up a drive in movie, the conversation went as follows...

"Adyson, do you know what a drive in movie is?" I asked. She replied "Nope". 

So then I begin to explain what a drive in movie is. "We will drive our car into what looks like a small field. We'll sit in our car and watch the movie! We can bring snacks and drinks." I play this up with the most enthusiasm and excitement in my voice. The response that came was not what I expected. 

"So you mean we are going to sit in a field and watch a movie? Ummm it does not sound like fun, but I'll go." She replied with a wrinkled face looking as if she had sucked on a lemon. Then she asked what movie we were going to see.

 My reply was "The dragon movie you keep seeing on TV, you've asked to go see it".

"Ummm I guess" was not the response I was expecting either. 

So we both agreed we would go to the "car movies" and watch "that dragon movie". 

So we get there. I pay for the tickets. I get us parked. I do a huge forehead slap. I forgot the lawn chairs! I forgot a blanket.  The ground is soaked from the rain storm an hour earlier. So we have to sit in the car. 

 

We get situated. I get out the drinks and snacks. The movie comes on. Everything is going great, then those famous words every child says ... "I have to go pee!"

So we get our shoes on. We get out. I lock up the car. We start walking to the bathrooms. Then Adyson realizes the movie is still playing. "Mommy you forgot to pause the movie!!" She yells. 

I wished I could've taken a picture of the look on her face when I replied "Adyson this is not the DVR, I can't pause the movie."  Her eyes got huge, mouth dropped open. 

Her reply "Holy shrimps!!! You can't pause this? But mommy can't you just ask them to pause it"

"No Adyson I can't, that is not fair to everyone else here watching the movie."

Her response a disappointing, "Oh". 

So after that all of the kinks have been worked out about going to the "car movies", she had a blast! She says she wants to make it a regular thing going to the drive-in movies! 

When was the last time you went to the drive-in? 

Do remember what you saw the first time you went to the drive-in? My first time at the drive-in I saw E.T.

JUST FYI---
I was looking through the App Store and found a great app called Trip Advisor. You can enter your city and it will give you everything to do in that city. History, hotels, attractions and sites! It also gives you the reviews of people who have already been there! Go check it out you won't be disappointed. 

Losses and Gains...

When my husband and I started our little farm we decided it was best for the kids to learn the truth about life and death. After all living on a farm there is going to be new life and there is going to be death. We decided to teach our children that everyone and everything goes to Heaven. We teach our children that EVERY life is precious and worthy. We also decided that we would not "sugar coat" things that happen on the farm. It is very important to us that our kids learn that life is NOT "sugar coated".  This has made our children more aware of what goes on to keep a life alive. It takes work and care to tend to all the animals on our farm. All the animals require food, shelter and water. When the animals get sick we try every effort possible to make them better. Sometimes despite all efforts there is still loss. I am proud that my children understand the efforts it takes to run a mini (2 cows, 8 goats, 2 dogs)  farm like ours. I am proud that my children understand where food comes from and the work it takes to get it to the table. I am proud that my children understand once something is gone, its gone.

Over the last week we have had  2 losses and a few gains.

Twilight about 1 week old.....

 






As most of you know Twilight (Adysons little goat) got severely dehydrated for whatever reason. We brought her inside and gave her bottles and electrolytes and she seems fine in the middle of the night.

 

When I checked on her at 4:30 she seemed to have taken a turn for the worst. She passed away about 30 minutes later. Everyone asked how Adyson took the news. She was upset at first and when I explained she went to Heaven to be with Roxanne & Hazel(Papa Jacks dogs ) and our Max in Heaven she seemed fine.  She asked if she could help bury her in the animal cemetery I said sure.


Adyson laid a flower for all the flowers she ate. Adyson also laid an onion for all the onion I fed her.

REST
IN 
PEACE
TWILIGHT










My father in law also had a loss. He lost his beloved Roxanne.

 
 REST IN PEACE ROXANNE

Even though there is loss there is also gain! Drum roll please!!!! 

I'm so excited!!! 

I can't wait!!! 

WE HAVE CHICKENS!!!!! 

 

UNTIL NEXT TIME. 

WHAT DID YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS WEEK?

Tessa checking out Papa Jacks side mirror and steering wheel! 

Snow/Rain Day Activities...

I know on these snowy, ice cold days the kids get stuck in the house. That leaves you to fill in the gaps. What do you do when the kids holler at you "I'M BORED!" Well the next time the kids say this you, you will be prepared. I always like to have a variety of things especially for the younger crowd, say 5 and younger.


 I will get you set up for the rainy, snowy, ice cold days! You need to have a variety of activities, especially for younger little ones who have a smaller attention span. Its always great to have back up plans for the little ones!

Puzzles- they are a great QUIET thing to do inside. I get my puzzles from the dollar store. I make sure they are puzzles that the kids are into. For example Adyson is into the Ninja Turtles, CARs, etc. So I made sure she had puzzles that match up with what she likes. Makes things easier if it interests the child.

Playing Cards- Yes playing cards. There are MANY games you can play. There is Go Fish, Old Maid, or make something up. Have an imagination! Practice Numbers, Memory game. Even 52 pick up, Adyson gets a kick out of throwing the cards up and counting how many land face up. Practice your adding and subtracting.

Craft- You can always pick a simple craft from my Pinterest Adyson Board, Craft Board, Kid Ideas Board
 Most of the crafts require simple items from around your house. Make play dough hand prints, make play dough, water paint. One of my favorites was making soap. Its very simple. The kids had a blast making soap. You can buy soap from most hobby stores. I got 1 set of soap molds for around $3. I also bought soap dye and soap fragrance. Total cost about $15.

Nephew Jackson Soap- With my nephew's soap I went to the dollar store and bought a pack of "sea creatures" and put a sea creature in bottom of the soap molds. He LOVED them!

Halloween Soap- Used orange soap dye. Went to the dollar store and bought a bag of Halloween goodies. Put the goodies in the molds first then slowly poured the soap over. Let them set up over night.

Books- I have a few chapter books that I read to Adyson. I help her imagine the scene, I ask her questions for her comprehension. So she is learning at the same time! She gets it 90% of the time. I let her pick most of the books we read, it seems to hold her attention longer when she picks it out. She starts to guess from the beginning what's going to happen and gets so excited. I can also get her to complete tasks faster when reading a chapter book. For example we get to the end of a chapter, I tell her its bath time. She hurries through bath so I can read the next chapter.
There are TONS of kid books for the iPad, NOOK, Kindle some of them are FREE!!!!

Movie Day-  Pick out your favorite movies. Make a "special" movie treat together, even if its just apple slices and honey. Stay in your pajamas, whats the harm in getting cozy in your favorite pajamas, fuzzy slippers, favorite blanket and curling up and spending some good quality time together.

 "Craft Kits" - in the craft/art section at the retail stores. I bought a few of them. Adyson LOVED being able to make her own bracelet. The kits cost about $2-$4 each. This created 2 HOURS of fun!! Well worth it in my book.

                                  WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT SNOWS? RAINS?

Adyson's Room Make-Over

OK so last March we decided it was time to give Adyson's room a make over.  We upgraded from the youth bed to a twin. Adyson picked the color of her room. I found TONS of ideas on Pinterest (so you know I created a board on Pinterest for it). I wanted to compile all the ideas and take the best ones and incorporate them into my plans.  (read about the start and curtains of the project here)

THE PROCESS---

Adyson picked a purple that she loved and we painted ALL the walls the same purple. She didn't want to get rid of her flower wall boarder. She insisted on keeping it. So it stayed!


I wanted Adyson to have a coloring area. She loves to color, we already had her favorite Cars table and 2 chairs. I did not want to get rid of the table so I had my husband create a shelf and paint it. We hung it above her table. The shelf holds all of her coloring books! We also screwed in hooks to the bottom of the shelf so she could hang buckets. The buckets hold her crayons, markers, etc.
                                 
                                                     

Next because she had so many book, as you can see from the full bookcase, I wanted her to have a reading area! So... the bean bag on the floor next to the bookcase! (Yes the Cars table gets moved, its also used as her night stand Per Adyson's request its her room!)

 

       BEFORE....                                                        AFTER....

Next I insisted opening up her closet. My husband was not happy about this but Adyson has had a ball with this. 

                                                    BEFORE...

AFTER...

                           

Because we opened the closet we were able to put her play kitchen and her Play tool bench in her closet. We also got rid of the dresser and used the closet organizer and hangers! So now Adyson can reach and get to everything in her room! 

I put her bed on bed raisers so I could utilize that space as well. Her Papa got her a Toy Story Car box that holds ALL of Adysons cars it has wheels on it and Adyson can push/pull it when needed. So that gets pushed under her bed when she is not playing with them! 

Adyson LOVES her room. I tried to keep everything in mind while redoing her room. Can she reach it without my help? Can she push/pull it without my help? Can she get it out with out my help? Can she put it away without my help? What does she play with the most? How long is this room going to be functional for her? Is this going to last? My child is taller then all kids her age. So everything we did was a little bigger/taller then most rooms of kids her age. I wanted her to start learning to be independent so I made sure she could get to everything she needed! 

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS? LEAVE THEM BELOW IN THE COMMENTS!! 

                                                      

                                                   HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!! 

Adyson chart

Adyson will be 5 years old in February. She will start school in August. So it's time for the behavior and chore chart. I found pictures to match the behavior or chore I would like her to complete. 

ADYSONS CHART-

There is no whining/crying- we've been having the issue lately of crying/whining when asked not to do something, or when being told no. So trying to stay positive in 2014, I want to reward good behavior! 

Eating-(you'll see breakfast, lunch and dinner listed on chart) Adyson has the issue of not eating. She fidgets, talks, "I'm not hungry".... Etc... We have to set timers, threaten, it justs makes meal time the most frustrating times of the day. So from now on it is what it is, if you don't eat then you don't get a sticker, no more negotiations. 

Brushing teeth- She's still excited to brush her teeth, but she ASKED for a sticker for this, so what harm is there in giving her a sticker for what she loves doing! 

Learning- We try to learn something everyday. Whether it's a letter, number, math, but something. So if she can sit and focus and learn then there needs to be a reward! 

Cleaning up- I usually let Adyson play where ever and we clean up before bath. That means no fussing about doing it either. Clean up means ALL the toys from  everywhere in the house get picked up and put where they belong. Not thrown somewhere! Also her room gets cleaned too! 

Bath time- We've been having a problem with Adyson and getting water all over everything! Floor, toilet, sink, walls, floor mats get soaked. I'm tired of cleaning and drying the bathroom EVERY DAY. So hopefully the positive of getting a sticker will help! 

Bedtime- This is a bit of a problem.  Getting out of bed several times for various reasons. Drinks, hungry, potty, scared, her "friends" told her to play, etc. So maybe the sticker will be the positive reinforcement! 

I'll give you guys an update in a couple weeks to see how this works out! I'm excited, Adysons excited. I've just got to keep the excitement going. Children learn what they see, not what you try to teach them (my opinion).  You can't expect your child to have manners if you don't show them, and use manners yourself! 

What did you get accomplished today?