Toddler Tuesday Follow-up

Brayden and I made bird feeders today, and I have to say, though neither activity took very long (about 10 - 15 minutes each at the most), he enjoyed them! Here are photos to show you the fun. Rolling the peanut-butter covered TP roll was his favorite: His "part" in the egg-container bird feeder was to use a spoon and fill up each cup: Taking the bird feeders outside to hang them. Brayden thought he should carry it like a purse! (You can tell by his eyes, it's almost nap time!) If you click on the picture below for a larger version, you can see that I stuck half a wooden skewer through the bottom of the "bird feeder" for a place for the birds to sit while they eat! On Friday, we'll be making pumpkin masks and possibly egg carton spiders. I'll tell you more next Tuesday!

Friday Declutter Challenge

I love joining Declutter Challenges because it keeps me honest. Although I like to think I'm organized and fairly clutter-free (I'm not a minimalist, however, and SOME clutter is what gives a home that homey feeling!), I join these challenges and always find things to get rid of! Marcia at The Organising Queen blog is having a Friday Declutter Challenge -- you go to her site on Friday and either leave a link to your blog or a comment on what decluttering you got done during the week. I'm in! How about you?

Toddler Tuesday is for the BIRDS!

It's Toddler Tuesday! Time to share ideas of activities for Toddlers -- ages 2 to 4 years old. Whether you're a babysitter, grandma (like me), parent, sibling, daycare provider, aunt or nice neighbor, I hope you'll find some good ideas in this weekly post. If you have ideas to share, please post the idea on your blog, then leave a comment here. You're welcome to cut and paste the Toddler Tuesday banner to put on your blog. Fall Weather is fast approaching, so winter can't be far off. I thought this week Brayden and I might make some bird feeders, which we can enjoy throughout the winter months. This idea comes from the website of Albert Egg Producers in Canada.

Birdfeeder
Tools & supplies required: Egg carton bottom, scissors, string, birdfeed.
Poke holes in the four corners of the egg carton. Cut 4 pieces of string (about 45 cm or 1.5 feet each) and knot each at one end. Pull a string through each carton hole. Gather strings in middle, and knot. Fill each egg section with birdseed. Hang on a tree and watch the birds feast!

From the great blog Adventures in PreSchool comes this great idea for making a bird feeder from a toilet paper roll. This is a great craft for Toddlers, but messy! ROLLED BIRD FEEDER 1 empty toilet paper roll 2 paper plates 1 "glob" of peanut butter Birdseed Craft or popsicle stick Yarn or string for hanger Simply punch two holes in opposite sides of the top of the TP roll, and put yarn through the holes to later tie up the bird feeder. Put a "glob" of peanut butter on a paper plate, and have the child roll the TP roll in the peanut butter. (She gave disposable knives to the kids to help spread the peanut butter, but for toddlers, I suggest using a popsicle or craft stick.) Once the peanut butter is spread, give each child a second paper plate with bird seed, and let them roll their peanut butter covered TP roll in the seed. That's it! Hang up on the nearest tree and enjoy! Don't forget the Birds! I know Brayden, now a whopping 31 months old, loves anything to do with glue. I have found a picture of birds in a magazine, and will have him glue it to a piece of construction paper, and then help me cut it out. We will then glue the bird to a popsicle stick... I can already picture him running through the house, waving the bird through the air to make it fly! OR - print of this coloring page of a bird and have your child color it whatever color he/she wishes! Cut it out, glue it to a sturdy paper (cereal box cardboard might last longer than construction paper), and attach it to a craft stick. That's what Brayden and I will be doing this week! Hope you'll share a fun activity you do with your Toddler! See you next Tuesday!

Just a thought...

I found this poem on one of my new favorite blogs, The Simple Woman Hope you enjoy it! A Prayer for Womanhood God, give each true good woman Her own small house to keep, No heart should ache with longing, No hurt should go too deep..... Grant her age-old desire: A house to love and sweep. Give her a man beside her, A kind man, and a true, And let them work together And love, a lifetime through, And let her mother children As gentle women do. Give her a shelf for dishes, And a shining box for bread, A white cloth for her table, And a white spread for her bed, A shaded lamp at nightfall, And a row of books much read. God, let her work with laughter, And let her rest with sleep. No life can truly offer A peace more sure and deep.... God, give each true woman Her own small house to keep ~Grace Noll Crowell~ ~~~~~~1934~~~~~~

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my Window... red begonias and yellows mums flowering - in my neighbor's garden! I am thinking... of how I can get laundry and paperwork done today, and still find some time to sew. I am thankful for... My house is clean, there's fresh linens on our bed, and the cat has not bitten me for almost a week. Life is good. From the kitchen... pork roast thawing for tonight's dinner. I am wearing... light gray capris, orange 3/4 sleeve t-shirt, no shoes, no socks. Temps in the 80's today! I am reading... "A Book of One's Own: People and Their Diaries" by Thomas Mallon. Fascinating! Also Jimmy Buffett's new book, "Swine Not" - surprised at how much I'm enjoying it (listening to the audio book). I am hoping... to really get motivated on doing some new home dec projects I have in my head. I am creating... a folder of home dec ideas I've seen in magazines that I know I can make myself. I am hearing... Water bubbling in the aquarium, "KidStuff" channel from Sirius radio, even though there's no kid here today! Around the house... Because of my two big days of housework last week, I don't have a large to do list today! Yay! Need to make up the guest bed and do some laundry. One of my favorite things... when my husband WANTS peanut butter and jelly in his lunch. How easy is that! A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Sale shopping and lunch with Lynne on Tuesday, babysitting on Wednesday and Friday, trip to the library, and a whole bunch of sewing. Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... 'Nuff said...

Menu Planning Monday - Easy Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe

After taking advantage of some sales on meats in the past two weeks, I didn't buy any meat this week when grocery shopping, so meals this week are planned around what is already in the freezer. On Wednesday and Friday I babysit for my 2 yr old grandson. He leaves around 5:30pm, and meals on those days need to be quick and easy, so I can have time to collapse in my chair for awhile! (Yes, he wears me out!) In an effort to cut down on our grocery budget, I've recently incorporated one meatless meal each week.

Monday Boneless Pork Roast w/garlic and rosemary Baked Sweet Potatoes* Steamed green beans Tuesday Pork and grilled vegetables fajitas Green salad black beans and corn salsa Wednesday DiGiorno's Garlic Bread Pizza Thursday Meatloaf (in freezer, ready to cook) Mashed potatoes Corn Friday Soup (canned) Grilled cheese sandwiches Saturday - Meatless Meal Baked Ziti Green salad Sunday - Breakfast for Dinner Sausage Biscuits (homemade) Scrambled Eggs Fruit Salad

*Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe 1 large sweet potato - serves two Butter cinnamon/sugar Thoroughly scrub sweet potato. Preheat oven at 350. Place sweet potato on rack of oven for one hour. (Open up top of foil and poke with fork to make sure potato is soft all the way through.) Cut potato in half, and slit lengthwise. Top with pat of butter and generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar, re-wrap in foil and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

This week...

Just a quick update (Brayden is upstairs with Umpa "shaving"). Yes, I got my downstairs cleaned yesterday, and despite how tired I was last night, it felt great! Tomorrow Jeff and I will get the upstairs done. Brayden and I did the "Race Car Painting" mentioned in this week's Toddler Tuesday. He had a GREAT time and it kept him busy for about 90 minutes! Here's photos of the artist at work and his resulting art work.

Two Scheduled Days of Pure Housework

Now, I know it's the season of Halloween and all, but yesterday I went to put water in a terrarium I have in my office and saw..... cobwebs! LOTS of cobwebs! Halloween or not, this is NOT cool! I know I've been a bit lazy lately about housework (yes, I confess... I get lazy!), but I refuse to get to the point where there's cobwebs in a very busy room in my house! I can live with cobwebs in the garage and in the basement, though we do go through with a vac once or twice a year and get those cobwebs out, but in my office?! Shame shame shame! So today (Thursday) and Saturday (I have Brayden all day on Friday), I will be doing housework the Don Anslett way... Grab all my cleaning supplies -- Windex, cleanser, furniture polish, rags and paper towels, long-handled cobweb brush, cleaning toothbrush (yeah, I know -- I am THAT anal when I clean!) -- in a bucket, start in the corner of a room and go all the way around, cleaning from top to bottom, using the appropriate cleaner/tool as I go. It's a very speedy method of cleaning, and is especially good at getting dust, fingerprints and yes, cobwebs! I plan on getting the downstairs done today, which is kitchen, family room, dining room, my office, bathroom and laundry room. On Saturday Jeff will help me do the upstairs (hey, he volunteered!), which is master bedroom, guest room, Jeff's office, my quilting room, two full bathrooms, hallway and stairs. A word to the wise (which I'm sure you are, so you already know this), you can't clean clutter, especially with this method of cleaning. My house isn't normally cluttered (OK, except for my office where all things paper land in this house), so I just took a few minutes last night to go from room to room and do a good general pick-up/put away of anything that needed to get back to it's home. But if you have clutter, I highly recommend you head to Flylady's web site and get out from under the clutter before attempting a good thorough cleaning! So I may be blogging a bit less for the next few days -- but I know you'll understand. A clean home environment is more important than blogging -- well, it should be anyway! OK, some days it's not, but you know what I mean!