Food Pantry Field Trip

Remember the food pantry donation from our Week 4 RAK? Well, today my Junebug and her pre-K class took a field trip (on the BUS! wow were they excited!!) to deliver those donations. They learned about how the donations were going to help the community and they were each given a bag to carry into the facility. The local newspaper was even there- can't wait to see the story! I'm so proud of our little girl and the things she is learning.

p52 | Week 5

For this week, I was just returning to work after a lot of sick days. I'd had some health troubles and the office ladies at the school I teach at seriously came through helping out getting me subs and helping me out. Junebug helped me bake some cookies for them =)

Update: The ladies said the cookies were VERY good and they appreciated them!

p52 | Week 4

For week 4, my Junebug's pre-K class (and whole school) is collecting donations and taking a field trip to the food pantry. We donated a few items we had lying around as extras: paper towels, tooth paste, canned foods.

Sorry it's blurry, she was CLEARLY excited to drop off our items, haha!

p52 | Week 3

I don't know if I should count this, because it's technically not so 'random' but I made dinner for a co-worker's family. He's been in and out of the hospital with pneumonia and pleurisy and it's been a rough few weeks for his family, especially since they have little ones. A few co-workers signed up for days to make meals for the family, so I jumped on the opportunity.

I made what has become my go-to make ahead meal for other families. (I've also given it to families with new babies.) I made cheesy chicken enchiladas, a recipe I found on Pinterest over a year ago. It's pretty easy and SUPER yummy. In fact, I made a double batch, so that my own family could have it for dinner the next night, too!

It's super easy to give as a meal paired with chips & salsa. I also threw in a cake for this family that I had picked up in the bakery when grocery shopping. =)

So, that's all. Nothing major but I think it's great to help out whenever you can!

p52 | Week 1

Project 52: Week 1

As I posted previously, I was really excited to start this Project 52: 52 Random Acts of Kindness. I've been talking it up a lot with my Pumpkin (Junebug just stares at me and laughs...) and trying to explain to her why were doing this. At first she was confused,  thinking we were giving Christmas presents, but now she's starting to understand more and getting excited, too! She's even come up with a few ideas of her own for the Random Acts, which I think is just awesome.

For Week 1, it was a little last minute, but I'd planned it that way. I wanted the first one to be for the kids' teachers at their school/daycare. We didn't go back from break until the 7th so that's why it was the tail end of week 1.

I created this printable of cards. There are lots of free printables out there already, if you just do a search for 'project 52' or 'random acts of kindness', but I wanted to create an original =) and it's available for you to download, as well.

So, I cut up the cards and mixed up some goodies (Tastefully Simple's Blue Ribbon Blueberry Bars, yum!) and in the morning we delivered them to the kids' teachers. Pumpkin was so excited and spent the whole day asking each teacher she saw if they'd had a special snack from us! Week 1: success!

Project 52 | Random Acts of Kindness

Twice now I have tried -and failed -at project 365, you know the one, you take a picture a day for a year. It really never should've been that hard for me since I take pictures- all. the. time. But alas... I never did make it.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again... but first lower the bar. HaHa! This year I (along with the kidlet) will tackle Project 52- 1 thing a week. A little less ambition, a little more success? Let's hope! I was so torn looking for what could be the focus of my p52... I see lots out there- photography (clearly wasn't going to work), cookies (whoa now, just starting to see my waistline again), quilts (a quilt a WEEK?! I've never even finished one in my lifetime...). WHAT would I focus on?

I searched blogs, pinterest, and then I found it... Random Acts of Kindness! YES! That would be it =) 52 Random Acts of Kindness. This is perfect, too, because I can get the kidlets involved. Especially after my 4 year old's (Pumpkin) behavior at Christmas time... lack of appreciation and a bad attitude! She needs this. So, I spent quite a bit of time last night pinning different blogs and lists of RAKs and next I'm going to create my very own printable for us to use. Pumpkin's going to help me with this so that she's involved from the beginning. I'm very excited for this project!

1 Week of Pinterest: Days 2, 3

1 new recipe
1 project for your home
1 craft type project
1 project for your toddler
2 of your choice
1 free day/do nothing

Day 1:
1 project for your toddler. (click to view)


Day 2:
(free day)


Day 3:
1 project of your choice
This one was found on a first grade teacher's blog. She used it as review after a map unit and the kids did the creating. Since I made it for my 3 year old, I created it myself. Here's the original:

And here's ours:

I LOVE it, and so does my Pumpkin!

Homeschooling Pre-school

Despite being a teacher and a parent,  I never really saw those roles combining. Of  course, as a mother I teach my child certain skills and things, but I never predicted I'd venture down the path of homeschooling. Here I am, though, it's the first full week of summer break and I've been sitting at my computer for over an hour mapping the curriculum of our summer preschool home schooling adventure!

The reason I decided to really put a lot of effort into this is my 3 year old (Pumpkin's) birthday is in October- past the September cutoff for Kindergarten. So that means she potentially has two full years before she can enter Kindergarten when she is 5, almost 6 years old. Knowing my child, I just know that's not going to be a good fit for her. She's incredibly quick and will need to be challenged much sooner than that. This summer we're going to work on a lot of basic things using the preschool curriculum from www.letteroftheweek.com. Let me tell you, what a FANTASTIC site! Katrina took the time to lay out EVERYTHING... themes, subject areas, reading lists. It's amazing. All I'm doing is plugging it into our calendar for the best fit for us and tomorrow we'll begin. I can't recommend this site enough. Plus, I'm so grateful because, quite frankly after the last few months of teaching my high schoolers ... lesson planning was the last thing my brain could handle right now!

By Request: Tooth Fairy Pillow

So I've been seeing about 3,139,723,186 different projects on Pinterest that I want to try. But of course every time I go to my board to pick a project I get overwhelmed and quit, haha. Then a good friend asked if I had any plans to start making tooth fairy pillows. Well, indeed it was a project on my infinitely long to do list! So it seemed like as good of a place to start as any other.

So, this afternoon I got the little Junebug down for a nap after a hearty lunch (first time having a quesadilla, his little tummy is full!) I decided to see what I could whip up! After browsing Pinterest some more and sketching out exactly what I wanted, I got to work!

Using fabric scraps made this project both quick but economical as well ;) I'm looking forward to being able to knock these out a few at a time and have them as a regular listing in my shop!

2012!

Man, did school and parenting slow me down! Haven't been posting much because I hardly find the time to sit at the computer! The good news is we're cleaning up the house and re-arranging so that the kids have more safe playing space near both my sewing machine and computer so hopefully I'll be updating a lot more! In the meantime here's a fun site I've found:

The latest thing I've made....

...is SO cute! Have a look:

hee hee... my lil' Junebug was born 6/2/11 at 5.24am weighing 6lbs 6oz and measuring 19 in long. he's been keeping me busy the last month, but I've still gotten some projects in and I've even taken on the task of opening at Etsy shop! Delight! I'll be sewing all this month to build a "stock" and then open August 1st! =)

More Flannel Blankets

I've made two of these for Junebug since they're  so easy, and quite frankly kind of essential. Well, now that Junebug has arrived and has been monopolizing much of this Mama's time I needed to ensure that my Pumpkin wasn't feeling left out or pushed aside. So, one afternoon Gammie came over to sit with Junebug while he napped and Mama and Pumpkin went to the "fabric store" (a.k.a. JoAnn's).

My Pumpkin got to pick out her fabrics and we spent some time together. ♥ That night I made Pumpkin her very own blankie that she now sleeps with every night =)

 

Father's Day Craft

Here's a project for father's day. I've often seen it done with "DAD" but Pumpkin & Junebug call hubby "Papa" so we did ours slightly different. I also usually see this done with those wooden letters you can pick up just about anywhere, but to be honest, I forgot to buy them and was too lazy to go back to the store. So I decided to make them out of fabric, and then they'd be a toy for later anyways.

To make the fabric letters, simply choose your favorite font in Word or some other word processing program. The best fonts for a project like this would be something thick, to accommodate stuffing. You, of course, could hand draw the letters too but if you're OCD like me, that just wouldn't work.

Type the letters you need and blow them up until they're as large as possible (one letter per page). It also helps to make the margins as narrow as possible. Print and cut out your letters. Trace each letter twice, once the right way and once backwards. Cut out your letters.

Pin your fabric letters together, right side OUT. Top stitch all around the edge, leaving a small gap for stuffing. Fill with batting. Stitch closed.

The edges will fray but it's part of "the look" ;)

Take pictures with the letters to create a montage like above, or make the whole alphabet to teach letters, or maybe just enough letters to spell out your child's name. The possibilities are endless! =)

CPSC Recalls

I am so grateful for the CPSC notification list. I found out yesterday, the day of the news release, that my daughter's crib was recalled. No having to wait to hear by word of mouth or *maybe* from the corporation (or maybe not since the company is not in business anymore). I found out immediately and right away took her out of her crib.

We're returning it ASAP and getting her a new one! I am so happy to be signed up for these notifications and I encourage all parents to do so:

https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2010
Release #10-211 CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908


Simplicity Cribs Recalled by Retailers; Mattress-Support Collapse Can Cause Suffocation and Strangulation
One Infant Death Reported
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing the recall of all Simplicity full-size cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames. This recall includes fixed-side and drop-side cribs. These cribs pose a risk of serious injury or death due to entrapment, strangulation, suffocation and fall hazards to infants and toddlers.

The crib's tubular metal mattress-support frame can bend or detach and cause part of the mattress to collapse, creating a space into which an infant or toddler can roll and become wedged, entrapped or fall out of the crib.

CPSC has received a report of a one-year-old child from North Attleboro, Mass. who suffocated when he became entrapped between the crib mattress and the crib frame in April 2008. CPSC is aware of 13 additional incidents involving the recalled cribs collapsing due to the metal mattress- support frame bending or detaching, including one child entrapment that did not result in injury, and one child who suffered minor cuts to his head when his mattress collapsed and he fell out of the crib.

CPSC staff urges parents and caregivers to stop using these cribs immediately and find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Do not attempt to fix these cribs.

Due to the fact that Simplicity and its successor, SFCA Inc., are no longer in business, CPSC has limited information about the number of cribs sold. All Simplicity drop-side cribs have previously been recalled for a hazard involving the drop side. Simplicity drop-side cribs could still be in use by parents or caregivers who are unaware of the recalls or by those who received a repair kit to immobilize the drop side from Simplicity when the firm was still in business. This recall involves ALL Simplicity cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames regardless of model number.

Crib Name Model Number
All Simplicity Cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames regardless of model number Model numbers unknown
Some of the known model numbers include:
Aspen 4-in-1 8755
Chelsea Deluxe 4-in-1 Convertible Sleep System 8324
Graco 4-in-1 Ultra Sleep System 4600
Graco Aspen 3-in-1 8740
Simplicity Crib and Changer Combo 8994
Simplicity Ellis Deluxe 4-in-1 Convertible Sleep System 8676
Simplicity Nursery-in-a-Box Convertible Crib 8910

Some model numbers are followed by letters, indicating the color or finish of the crib. The name "Simplicity Inc." or "Simplicity for Children" appears on a label on the crib's mattress-support frame and/or the crib's end panels. The cribs were manufactured in China.

The recalled cribs were sold at Walmart, Target, Babies R Us and other stores nationwide for between $150 and $300. Consumers should contact the store where the crib was purchased to receive a refund, replacement crib or store credit.

Caring Bridge

This post is a somber one. I wanted to let everyone know about this website, though. Also, to encourage anyone looking for a charity/website to donate to this holiday season to think of Caring Bridge. http://www.caringbridge.org/ is "a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free websites that connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery. A CaringBridge website is personal, private and available 24/7. It helps ease the burden of keeping family and friends informed. The websites are easy to create and use. Authors add health updates and photos to share their story while visitors leave messages of love and support in the guestbook."


Unforunately, I've had a number of former students who were cancer patients or had life threatening illnesses. Most recently, one of the mommies from my October baby group on Cafemom, had her 3 year old daughter diagnosed with Leukemia. Such a tragedy for a family that had already experienced a lot of loss in just last week. The good news is her daughter has ALL, which has a very high recovery rate, so we're all hoping for the best!


In times like these it's nice to have a way to update everyone, without having to make a ton of calls or emails. Caringbridge.com allows people to post updates, pictures, etc. from anywhere at anytime. It's a great site and free to everyone. I hope that you might consider a small donation.


http://www.caringbridge.org/donate

Welcome to Mommy's Favorite Things!

As a new mommy I'm constantly finding new products and resources that I love and want to share. This blog will be where I record all my favorite things, hence the name ;).

A little about me: I'm a 24 year old married mommy of one. I work full time as a teacher. With summer break approaching I'll be working full-time in retail. I go to school online full time, getting my Master's. I enjoy organizing, photography, cooking, reading, blogging, graphic designing, shopping, sewing/crafting and more! My parenting style is less-extreme attachment parenting, I breastfeed and make all my own baby food. We vaccinate and co-sleep.

And I have opinions on everything!