Tiny Talk Tuesday

There is never a boring moment here, NEVER. And those 3 little girls have lots of imagination, creativity and are very talkative, see for yourself.

Monkey R walking around the house stomping her feet and speaking in a very loud deep voice: "Fee Fi Fo Fum I smell the blood of an Englishman" Me: "we are all girls here"Monkey R waving her harm around : "Presto I change you into a Englishman"

Lately Big sister thinks that she is getting too old for her naps, and instead of staying in her room and doing her quiet time there, she asked for sitting on the couch with paper and pencil. She wants to be alone to "write stories" It's lots of fun to see her scribble randoms letter, while she in creating a beautiful story. Most of the time I have to ask her to "read it to me" but there noting like seeing her imagination flowing, creating stories. I think that she might me our "writer" in the family.

Big sister holding paper and a pen:"We need to have a meeting, I need to ask you some questions"Me: "what is the reason of this meeting young lady"Big sister "What is your name Mama?"Me" Mama"Big sister "do you like to be a mama?"Me: "yes I do"Big sister" Do you like to cook?"Me" Well, yes I do like to cook"Big sister : "cook me food now I'm hungry!"Me "was that a question or a demand? How are you suppose to ask?"Big sister "My tummy said meeting is over and please feed my belly"

Little Miss S : "I have a secret to tell you" comes close to me
Me" what is it"Little Miss S: "uhmmm hummm ...I forgot"Me: "oh, that ok"Little miss S:" I still love you anyways"

Monkey R marching like a soldier holding a celery stick in her hand "get in my tum... yummy in my tum"

This picture below is little Monkey R, and for a 2 year old, is quite the monkey, see now why she gets her nickname!

Little Miss S looking sleepy, Me "Go in your bed, you need a nap"Little Miss S" No I afraid of nightmares"Me: "but you still need a nap"Little Miss S "My eyes can't sleep"

Left her on the couch to deal with a crisis, with a house full of little one, crisis happen about every 15 minutes are so. Came back to find her fast asleep on the couch

Monkey R " Want to play hide and go seek?"Me: " ok, 1..2..3..."Monkey R running to hide, all the sudden coming out of her hiding spot "ready or not here I come... I found you mama"Me still sipping on my warm cup of coffee while sitting comfortably in my rocking chair:" Lets play THAT game again!"

 Bedtime is always interesting here, the girls share a bedroom (bunk bed and a toddler bed). I have seen them create a tent with the bunk bed, have a sleep over on the floor camping style, even found all 3 of them snuggle up in the toddler bed, how did they managed to fell asleep all smooch together like that is beyond me!

Many nights I have to struggle to keep those girls in bed, they will find excuses to come of of bed, they might fight with each other, but overhearing on little sister saying to her sister "sure I'll snuggle with you sisters" is like honey for a mother's ears.

Big sister wrapped up in a blanket dangling from the edge of my bed: "I'm sleeping like a bat"

Monkey R all wrapped up in a blanket walking around the living room after bedtime saying "I'm a cocoon"Me" you should be in bed"Monkey R crawling in the floor "am a Caterpillar" Me "go make you cocoon in BED!"

This was a random post about fun stuff that happens with living with these little girls, of course there are those moments that aren't so much fun, but moments like the ones that I wrote here, makes up for those not so fun one.

Isn't funny how parenting is like that, it's hard, harder then you can imagine and those precious little moments, when they happen you forget all about the bad one and you just want to soak those good one all in.

As seen on Pinterest ~ Veggie Flowers

Kids and eating  vegetables can be a struggles to most mothers. I have to admit that my girls like veggies, most of the time, now don't hate me ok.

Do I have superpower, not at all, but a few tips that I can share with you.

1. See if your little ones like certain veggies cook vs raw and vise versa (each kids do have a personal preference and that is ok)
2. Offer it to them, over and over and over. Remember to eat them yourself, they do learn by what they see.
3. Don't offer it to them, but instead just put some on your plate, if your kids are like mine, what is on your plate always is better their what is on theirs!
4. Serve it in a creative way (now this post is what this is all about!)

I was looking about pinterest for nothing in particular, yes that happens to me often lately, and notice this cute little pin and loved it right away.

How to create veggie tulips 

You will need:

• sharp knives 
• carrots
• cucumber
• toothpicks

Cut the cucumbers in slices and then in half, take the seed part out by carving a small triangle shape. Then slices carrots, and cut 2 small triangle close together. Secured on a toothpick and let your little one enjoy and healthy fun snack. 

Can also be serve with hummus or other dipping sauce.

How about you, how do you makes you little one eat their veggies???

Tiny Talk

Some women thinks that the stay at home mothers must be bored out of their minds, being home 24/7 with little people.

The truth is, yes there are time when you want to talk to someone and have a real conversation that does not involve asking them to use the potty. But, being present with those precious little goose, always makes for some interesting interactions.

Here are a few snippets of a few of our latest tiny talks

Big sister, wiggling around the living room in her new shoes.

Big Sister:"These must be Dancing Shoes, because they make me dance" Me: "yes, blame it on the shoes"
Big Sister: "But Mama I don't know how to dance, so the shoes are teaching me."
Me "Ha, ok"
Big Sister" Mama can I go on stage and dance, so all the people can see me dance" 

 

Little Miss S : "Mama, do you remember when you ate and ate lots of food and then got a stomach ache then turn into a butterfly?"
Me: "No, that was the Very Hungry Caterpillar"
Little Miss S: " Mama, are YOU a very hungry caterpillar?"

Monkey R, doing the I got to go potty dance.

Me: "You need to go potty now!"
Monkey R trying her best to ignore me "I don't need to go"
Me: "Just go, you NEED to go"
Monkey R: "But Mama, my belly muscles are too weak to go potty!!!"

While driving in town, during rush hour, with 3 very loud girls arguing in the back seat.

Me: "Girls you need to be quiet please, I need to concentrate. I don't want to have an accident"
Little Miss S:  " NOOOOO Mama, don't do THAT in here, you need to use the potty"
Me:  shaking my head "Not THAT kind of accident"

I know I am a few days late but I think think I'll start linking with
Hoping you have enjoyed our tiny talk this week :-)

Caution kids at play

Sometime I get down on the floor and play with them, but sometime I'm too busy with other things, like cleaning. Not that I want to choose cleaning over playing, but when the house is in a somewhat orderly fashion, this mama can thinks more clearly and knows that she is a better mother when her brain is in full capacity.

But there is always those little voices in my head, that keeps reminding me, that, they don't stay little for long. To embrace this messy season and to play with them,  to make memories. 

I been on both side of the fence. I had time when we just played, let the mess go, but it's wasn't working for me. Then, there was the time that I cleaned and cleaned while they played alone, well THAT didn't worked for them.

Parenting is a tricky little thing, finding a balance that will make both mama  and kiddos happy, take lots of works and patience and practice. Everyday we are fine tuning this little thing that we call life.

I am no expert in parenting nor homemaking, feels like I'm learning as we go, but don't we all.

I have learned that toys that brakes aren't much fun at all, we love wood toys. That toys that have them use their imagination, their creativity are the best for us. That fresh air does wonders on grumpy kids, and that mama needs her dose of sunshine too. That less is more, the more toys that they have to pick up makes for hours of negotiations, and my little girls are very good at trying to negotiate everything!

Learned that the best way to have them to eat their veggies, is serving yourself a large plate of it, and not putting any on theirs. Within minutes, they will be begging you for some.

I have learned that sometime, if you let them fight their own fights, be free to create and play by themselves,  they will amaze you with how much they are able to do stuff on their own.

Little ones don't need us to micro manage their life, what they will learn is to please us, but they need to learn by making their own mistakes (and that is so hard for us to watch, right).  

Have learned that tv, can give you the freedom to take a shower without 6 little eyes watching you... and THAT is a good thing! But also learned that too much tv, makes them get all out of sorts. Moderation is the key.

I remember the time that I let them hold their own cup, and the messes and broken cups I have cleaned before they got the hang of it.

 Independence comes with it's share of spill and brakes. 

Our precious children, need learn all those messy skills that will make them fully functional adults, and we are along for the ride. What a privilege is to be part of this beautiful mess, even when it makes us want to pull our hair out.

So today, as sit, looking at them playing with those blocks, creating a train tracks and a station, admiring their creativity, and capacity of dealing with sharing and getting along. I am reminded that they are growing and so am I.

As seen on Pinterest ~ Quinoa Salad

It's not because I have young kids that my meals should be *kids friendly*, I want them to be adventurous, ready to try new food, new flavors, new colors.  This week for my, make something from pinterest, I choose Quinoa salads.

Before you ask, Qui what? Yes if you never heard what Quinoa is, it's a grain, some call it an ancient grain, with a light nutty flavor (reminds me of brown basmati rice). You prepare it like you would rice, I always prepare some extra and freeze a few portions to use in a hurry.

Back to the pinterest Quinoa salads, did you know that there is a amazing amount of recipe for it on pinterest, who know Quinoa was so popular! I choose Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea salad pin this week and did my version of it.

Source: thediva-dish.com viaMama on Pinterest

Looks delicious doesn't it!!!

If you want to read the original recipe you can visit here. If you are like me, recipes are just a guideline, that you tweak to make it your own. Let's face it, I want my kids to be adventurous in their food experience  but I have to model that myself by being adventurous in the kitchen.

So you may noticed that I was inspired by the pin, I however did not followed it to the T. I think this is a way to use all our pins, just to get inspired, to get to creative juice flowing and dare try something new.

What you will need for the salad

• About 2 cups of cook Quinoa (prepare at your liking, using broth or just water)
• 1/2 cup of Chickpeas (cooked, and drained)
• 1 can of black bean (rinsed and drained) *optional*
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes cut in half (or any other tomatoes cubes)
• 2 avocados diced
• 1/2 cup of cook corn
• 1/2 orange pepper (red of green can also be use)
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 3 green onions finely chopped
• 1 small clove of garlic
• 2 jalapeño  peppers (optional)
• Crumbled Feta cheese (optional)

And for the dressing

• Juice of 2 to 3 limes (depending of your taste)
• 1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Simple mix it all together, leave it to rest in the fridge for  at least 1 hours (for the flavors to all blend in together) before serving and voila. 

Can be served as a main meal, or a side. Also delicious as a dip for corn chip the next day.

How about you, are you adventitious in the kitchen or are you following the cookbook to the letter?

Follw me on pinterest at Mama S

Like sponges

Little kids are like sponges, they absorb everything around them.

I think this is amazing

Last night, while I was preparing a before bed snack for the little girls, my precious 2 years old told me that we were going to have "potato bread ". If you know her,  you would know that she is one little goose that love teasing and being silly.

So I thought that she was just being silly, really potato bread?!

So I went along "sure sweetie, we are having potato bread and and we will put onion butter on it" Now looking at me a bit confused, she pointed to the label on the bread bag

"Mama. POTATO bread"

Who knew, that I even had a bag of potato bread, and even more amazing that she read the label all by herself!!!

How about you, what amazing thing have your little one surprised you with this week?

When life give you mud

I think it's a natural instinct that most kids wants to be dirty. There is always that little child that seems to be able to managed to stay clean and you wonder how he/she does it, then you look down at your precious little one covered in who knows what, and shake your head.

My little girls love girly dresses and tea parties, but when mud and puddles are around, there is no stopping them. They know how to get dirty.

Being the mother and the one who have most of the responsibility of keeping this house clean, I have to fight the urge to scream "Nooooooo, don't roll yourself in that". I often have to bite my lips not to say those words, but sometime I fail. Seeing those sad little faces breaks my mothers heart.

It's not easy, knowing that my ever growing pile of dirty clothes, in a instant, just grew bigger.  Knowing that it's too cold to let them undressed outside, and therefore I will have to clean the floor, rug and probably the walls too.

Then I look at them, the smile on their faces, their laughter, giggles the joy pure joy of being free. How is it that we loose that freedom when we become parents? Does responsibilities and maturity have to come with chains?

Freedom does not mean that we have to be irresponsible, let go of all that is moral and right.

No, freedom is being able to embrace the mess and being ready to clean it after.

Today's challenge, put on the rubber boots, be free to get dirty, have fun. Let your children see you happy to be around them, to play with them. To live freely with them. And maybe, just maybe with the promise of hot chocolate, you might have little helpers to clean up the mess with you, to share the load. Because you have given them something that is priceless, you have given them a part of you, they might learn to give you a part of themselves also.


How about you, what kind of messy thing in parenting that have you on chains?  Let's be honest here, we all have at least one thing that makes us cringe, that makes us want to say Noooo, one thing that keep us from being free. What's yours?

As seen on pinterest ~ lets make Art

I had great intention to write a post last week about something I made from pinterest, but I didn't. I did do a few projects, but just didn't write it here. The once a week thing, have to work at being more diligent of doing that.

Here I am this week and I will be sharing with you, another great way to use pinterest, to get your creative juice flowing.

For all of you who haven't yet discovered pinterest, seriously where have you been in the last year or so!. Pintrest in a great tool for people to get more creative, you just "pin" a link of something you would like to try and put in into a board and hoping that one of these day come back to it and try it. 

It's like having lots of magazines for ideas without the clutter or making a hole in your wallet.

I have pinned lots of food relate pins those are always fun to do, but today I want to share with you how pinterest can help your homeschooling (or entertaining your little one on a rainy day)

Source: mamasmiles.com via Mama on Pinterest

Just a side note here, when using pinterest you are not only posting nice pictures on your boards, you are posting the link of the person who took those picture and took time to write a lovely post, so your pinning is sharing the love. Here my pin comes from Mama Smiles, and you will be a mama that smiles after going to her little corner of the blog world, that I'm sure.

If you are like me, and not using a learning in a box tool for your little ones home education, you might always be on a look out for some new creative ways to make learning fun and practical.

Art inspired by great artist, was a inspiration for me. How can I use this to make a full lesson, was my question.

1. Did a quick online search of the artist I wanted to share with the girls. I use the internet, but books, or museum visit could have also been done here, but I prefer something quick and easy, might have the "fast food" syndrome here!
2. Read to the girls major highlights of the life of the artist and look at our map to find the country where he was born and where he did all his work.
3. Choose the painting that I want them to try to paint themselves  we talk about what was on it, what they saw, the color used etc... 
4. Got my paint supply out. Yes I am one of those crazy mothers that thinks using the real material will help the little one learn to appreciate their creation better. Explained to them the type of paint that we were using, how to use it properly and how to clean up after. Yes cleaning up, here in this house, is part of homeschooling.
5. let them try to replicate with their own interpretation the painting, and Voila, an artist in born.

You might think this is just a a art lesson, but no, this is a opportunity to teach way more then just art. In the painting that I use there was a chance to do some math, learning to spell words, learn about colors, geography and of course art.

So how does it all work together, how can you use a art lesson and make it a "living" lesson.

• Math, counting how many items are being seen in the masterpiece  simple additions and subtractions can also be done (depending one the age and level of understanding of your child)
• Using what you see for vocabulary or spelling lesson.
• Like I said earlier using a map to teach where the painting was created is part of a geography lesson. Also you can have a time line to teach history (put the concept of when this was created into perceptive)
• Learning to mix colors, teaches about colors but also motor skills.
• Cleaning up, teaches about responsibility and how to use certain tools (paint brushes etc..) in a proper way.
• Using Art, teaches how to appreciated our surrounding better, to have a eyes for the beautiful things that is all around. 

Now can you see how a inspiration, a simple pin, can be used in many ways. How about you, have you use pinterest at it's full potential yet?