Casting for Recovery

This past weekend was the "Casting for Recovery" event that I mentioned a few weeks ago. This year, the event was moved to a new location and it was, honest to goodness truth, the best one ever!

The new location was at the Marriott on 228. The food was amazing! The fashions were fabulous! I wanted to show off some picture of the event.

Food is always very important! We started with a salad and some rolls. For our main course, we had chicken, red potatoes, and squash. Very yummy! We wrapped it all up with the most amazing cake that I've ever had. I wish I had a picture of it!

This is one of the Chinese auction tables. There were something like 40ish prizes. I, being ever so lucky, took home 3 of them! Out of a room of over 200 people.....I was excited!

At this table, you can learn more about Casting for Recovery and buy different items that help raise money for the cause.

And....the Perkins Family...the "Original Four". I love that we are all out volunteering together.

Thank you!

Thanks again to everyone that joined in on my link up party! We were able to add a few more people to the party, but did not make it to the goal of having 15. I think I have a solution for that. I think I'm going to have to have a button (like I did), but also have the code for it so that you all can add it to your pages and bring others over to the link up.

This is a learning process for me. Last week, I learned how to make that button that was used for the Valentine link up. If was very simple, and taking it a step further should not be that difficult.

Be on the lookout for an end of the week "Summer Weather" linky!

Warmer Weather!

I'm so excited! I kept hearing a rumor that the temperature was going to be headed in the up direction this week. I checked out weather.com and sure enough, we'll be in the 50s on Wednesday and Thursday and up to 60s on Friday!

I love winter, but I'm getting to the point where it's getting old! I'm ready to get outside again....and Matthew REALLY needs to get out! I decided that this will be a great day to head to the zoo! My kiddo loves the zoo and animals, so I know we're going to have a blast!

Besides being able to go to the zoo, I have already been thinking about some of the other things that are on my "to do" list for this summer. Some of it may not happen, but we do the best that we can......

1. Finally take our Hershey trip
2. Kennywood
3. 4th of July fireworks!
4. Take Matthew to a Pirate game! (I won tickets at an event his weekend)
5. Go see the Washington Wild Things (I won tickets to this too)
6. Visit lots of parks many days of the week
7. Celebrate my hubby's 30th birthday!
8. Saint Ferdie's Fair
9. Saint Sebbie's Fair and market...especially the market!
10. Lots of trips to Soergel's to buy fresh veggies and see the animals
11. Cold Brusters on super hot days!
12. SWIMMING!!!

What else is on your list??

Valentine Party!

Today was the Valentine party for our playgroup! I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoy this parties! Each one is better than the last too. I remember back to the Halloween party....I was so worried about everything being perfect, everyone be perfectly happy, and having everyWHERE decorated. In the end, I had fun, but I was sweating like a dog, because I was just running around in circles the whole time! This party, I actually did sit down and talk to a few people.

Here's a couple pictures. I have probably 10 more than what are here, but I don't want to post them without permission from their parents to post their pictures. So, if you are someone that reads my blog and you had kids at the party, let me know if it's okay to post a picture of you kiddo. If it's all, cool I'll add a few more.

This is my cupcake holder, candy heart "display"

Matthew stealing a banana!

Opening up Matthew's Valentines!

Miss Olivia!

Olivia and Mommy!

She liked the ball pit!

Puzzles

My son is amazing! Just before he turned 2, I got my son very interested in puzzles. Now, he will take anything that can go together and try to put it back together. He always surprises me.

Lately, while I am making his meals, he has been putting this Diego puzzle over and over again. I am so proud of him! Anyway, I just wanted to show him off!

Blog Hop Skip & Jump Wednesday!

I'm blog hopping today!

Fine motor activity!

I was just thinking of ways to make lunch fun today when I came up with this little gem of an idea. I thought I would put some grapes on skewers. Well, of course Mr. Matthew had to get in on the action! I was about to say "No way little man!" Then, I realized that this could be a great motivator for a little fine motor activity. So, I handed him a skewer, refilled the grape bowl, and grabbed my camera to show you.

He loved it! He skewered his grapes for about 15 minutes.

Then, he ate every single one. Success for Mommy!

The Factor Tree

Here's another great resource for someone that is either a homeschooling parent or maybe just a child that needs some math practice.

This week, BzzAgent asked me to try out and review a site called "The Factor Tree". This site is practicing Preschool through 6th Grade math skills. If you are interested in trying out this site, you can get a 2 week free trial using the code BZF.

When you log in to the site for the first time, it will take your information as well as some about your child. Then, it will take you through an evaluation test, which starts at the Preschool skills and continues through the grade levels. Each time you login, you will come to this screen.

It finds the places where you made the most mistakes and starts producing "worksheets" that will help you build any skills that are lacking. I have used the site three times and have not found any part that does anything in the way of teaching new skills, but it will help you if you ask for a hint. The hint button brings up pictures, equations (if needed) and an explanation of how you can find the answer to a problem.

As you are doing the problems, there is a pie chart off to the right to tell you how many you are getting correct. I thought that was a nice idea, but for the child that might be struggling, it could be a source of anxiety if they see that they are missing too many.

Overall, I liked this product and could see how it might be helpful to some students. I wanted to give you a few snapshots of what you might see if you try out this site. Also, if you do decide to try out the site or have tried it in the past, I would love to hear your reactions in the comments below. Thanks!

I like that there is an organized list of the progress that the student has made.

I also liked that this pop up box came up to remind you to congratulate your child.

Here is an example from third grade geometry.

I like to move it, move it...

Did I tell ya that I won some tickets to see Madagascar Live? I was on Macaroni Kids Pittsburgh and found out that they had a little contest coming up to win tickets. I decided to give it a shot...and I won! Scott had to work and my Mom was the one that sent me the original e0mail about Macaroni Kids, so we took my Mom and Dad.

Matthew did better at this show than Sesame Street Live.

I took some pictures to show you, but I was not allowed to use my flash because "It can really scare the animals". The pictures are not perfect, but I really just want to be able to show the costumes. I was impressed that Melman was up on stilts. I mean, maybe it was only 3 feet off the ground, but he was like that for almost 2 hours. He had to walk around a bit and under stuff a lot. I was really impressed!

The penguins were a true highlight! They were awesome!

This show is touring the U.S. If you liked the movie, I know you will be impressed with the live show.

Letter of the week is V, v, v..."

We got started on our V today. We didn't get to put the vegetables on it, because we got sidetracked with our special Valentine project. Matthew is getting really good at this "Letter of the Week" stuff. We sing our song:

To the tune of "Wheels on the Bus"

The letter of the week is V, v, v
V, v, v
V, v, v
The letter of the week is V, v, v
All week long.

Usually I add other verses that include words....

V, v, v is for Vi-o-lin
Vi-o-lin
Vi-o-lin
V, v, v is for Vi-o-lin
All week long.

We sing this song at different times during the week. It's getting so that he is able to remember some of the words that put into the song by the end of the week. He was already able to put in violin for this week, but I think that is partly because he is very interested in violins and other musical instruments (Thank you Little Einsteins!).

Great information on Homeschooling!

I've been linking up with "No Time for Flash Cards" for a while now. Each week I look through probably 5 to 10 link up that interest me. This week, I stumbled across a blog post that I thought some of my readers might find helpful....I sure did!



I have contacted the author of this blog and asked if I could repost what she wrote for all of you. I realized that doesn't make much sense! She needs to get the perks of your traffic to her site. So, I'm just going to repost a bit of what she wrote. If this sounds like something that you are interested, you can most on over to her "Homeschool Hoop-La" and finish reading.

"The school provides you with $1500 per student as well as a list of providers from where to buy your curriculum. The awesome part is you can even choose Christian curriculum providers such as Sonlight, Abeka, AO Publishers and tons more. What I really love about this is that you can try curriculum risk free! At the end of the school year you are given a list of the non-consumable items that need to be returned. These are things like readers, teachers manuals etc. You keep any workbooks or items that you've used up during the year. At first I was a little disappointed about having to return the curriculum but after realizing I'd run out of storage in about 2 years, I wasn't that upset! Of that $1500, you need to use at least half the money on curriculum of your choice but the other half can be used to pay for non-competitive activities or lessons (such as ballet, gymnastics, karate, piano, ukulele, voice, etc) or field trips, year passes to museums, galleries or other educational locations."

Wanna read more about it???

Flat Stanley

I'm bummed with myself. I had good intentions of doing something with my son this past January. I thought that we would read "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown and then make our own Stanley and take him around town with us. After we shot a couple of pictures, I was thinking that we could put him in an envelope and send him to some of our friends in our playgroup.

I have borrowed this book from the library twice and still have not done this activity. Can I get some motivation up in here?!

Meet Me on Monday

Questions:

1. Did you watch the Superbowl?
Most of it. I watch most of the second quarter, the halftime show, and the last quarter. I also got to watch the Post-game GLEE!

2. What is the last book that you read?

I read this amazing book about being a mother. I sat there reading and thinking..."Oh My GOD! This is so true! Why didn't everyone ever tell me that was true for so many people!!!" I wish I could think of the name of the book. I know that it was written by an English writer.....I just can't think of it!

3. What is your favorite kind of cake?

Chocolate cake....super rich...with super rich chocolate frosting the the middle of awesome layers....with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side!

4. Do you snore?

Apparently I do!

5. Do you play an instrument?

I do...in the broadest sense of the term! At one time I took piano lesson and clarinet lessons. I can "play" them...but not well.

Gettin' Down on the Floor!

Friday we needed to burn off some energy in our house! I keep hearing bloggers say that they are taking their couch cushions and blankets and making obstacle courses. I don't think I have seen any pictures of this though. So, I keep wondering what they look like.

Here is what it looked like for us. We use all of the cushions from our couch, a chair cushion, a couple pillows, a body pillow and the ottoman to hold it up. Matthew loved it! Once he started tunneling through he was so excited that he kept yelling "Time tunnel approaching" (Dinosaur Train reference).

I highly recommend that you do this. The best part was at the end when we gave him cushions and had him put the back where they go. It was almost like a giant puzzle. Great idea! Thanks to so many of you that suggested it!

PLEASE help me out!!!!

I am a bzzagent. What does that mean? I signed up on the site to try out and review different products that they give to me. Sometimes I get food samples, sometimes it is "stuff" like the label maker that you saw a couple weeks ago, once I even got candles. I love it!

Today, they are asking us to do a challenge that I can't pass up! There is a campaign coming up that will let you try and review the FLIP camera. To be in the running for this campaign, I have to be one of the bzzagents that gets the most traffic to the a list of Chevy-Superbowl commercials. I would really, really love the chance to own my own Flip, so I'm asking for your help! Please click on what you see below and watch some or all of the commercials! I would just really appreciate it!

Also, which one was your favorite?

Trying out Linky Tools!!!

Today I was blog hopping and decided that I want to try out this blog hop/ link up stuff. So, I guess you can call this a test!

Please first, follow my blog.
Next, link up below with a picture from your blog and a caption.
Last, please take some time to check out some of the other links.

If I am not already following you, I will follow your blog if you link up below!




PS....Also! I want to make sure that I thank Snack Bar Review for inspiring my trial of Linky Tools!!!

Blog Hopping

I'm hopping around some blogs today!

Cheap Field Trip

We are still getting used to Daddy working on Sundays. This past Sunday, I decided it was time for a short, cheap field trip. This is where we went:

Seems weird, right? I've been taking Matthew to Animal Friends since before he was a year old. Our Animal Friends is just about 5 miles from our house and is very nice! I first decided to take Matthew there when he was really getting in to animals. I am not an animal person. It's not that I don't like animal, I just never really had them growing up so they kind of freak me out! I would equate it to someone that has never taken care of kids and just doesn't know what to do with them. I did not want my son to be the same way, but getting a pet is not on our list right now.

When we got there, we always walk ourselves around and visit ALL of the cats, ALL of the dogs, and ALL of the bunnies. If Matthew is able to get close enough to pet something, he certainly will!

This is never a long trip. We probably aren't there for more than an hour, but it is fun and Matthew enjoys it. We had to take a picture of the new cat room. It's kind of blurry, but I didn't want to use a flash and scare any kitties.

Also, you may have noticed that I titled this "Cheap Field Trip" and not "Free Field Trip". It really can be free, but we always take a bunch of change to put in their big bank to help the animals.

Bringing the Snow inside!

Yes, that is real snow!

Over the weekend, Matthew seemed to be getting bored with the usual. I had seen another blog where someone brought the snow inside. I thought that Matthew would love to play in this sensory box, because he just loves to play in the snow. Sadly, that was not the case. It was pretty much just Mommy and Daddy playing in this one.

One neat thing did happen though. When I realized that this was pretty much a bust, I started to put the box in the sink. When I did, Matthew became interested and jumped up on a chair to see what I was doing. It turned into a little science experiment!

I wanted to show Matthew that the snow was going to melt when I added hot water. He may not have got that, but he did seem to be interested in seeing how the hot water changed the feel of the box when it was added. I would add a little water and then turn it off. He would dip his fingers in and say "Cold Mommy." We did this three or four times. The last time, it was warm enough for him to say "Hot Mommy."

While were were doing all of that water adding, I was talking to him and telling him what was happening. Obviously, I know that he doesn't get it, but one thing that I learned while teaching is that introducing an idea even before someone is ready can spark an interest that you could never imagine was there.

Here's some of the pictures of the changes that our little snow bin made when we added water.

Feb Plan

I had this at least half done when I did January. So, then, why did it take me so long to crank out? I've probably put another 3 hours into it over the last couple of days, because of guilt. That part of me that says "You're not doing enough 'stuff' with your son" keeps me thinking that planning one little goal for the day is such a low and lame expectation.

So instead of posting, I spent extra time looking up what is going on around town, at the local Y, at all of the museums and stuff. I wanted to make sure that I was taking advantage of all of the good opportunities. As it turns out, in doing that, I realized that I was much happier with my one goal a day idea and just adding the rest of the stuff later. I know that I will add more activities with our "Letter of the Week", which you will not see listed on the , we will also take additional field trips, and learn new songs.

I had to stop and think about my goals. My goal above all was to make sure that I had some direction each day for what I wanted my son to be learning. Instead of thinking "Good God! What are we going to do today!" I will have a plan in place and I will be able to prepare ahead of time.

That all said....I present you with "The Feb Plan". If there is anything that you are curious about or any ideas that you have for anything I am doing, I would love your input.

5 more!!!

Last night, I decided to make an extra stop on the way home. I was able to score 5 more Lay's Stax! I used my $5 reward from earlier and got 5, $1 rewards back!

Bonus....This time they had cheddar!

I guess I'll be bringing Stax to gatherings for a while!