Tuesday

Preschool Craft: Halloween Kitty Cat


Happy Halloween!



It's Halloween. Time to make a black kitty cat for your door. 

This is an easy craft for you to do with your preschooler because you most likely have the supplies already. They can learn about different colors and shapes in the process, as well as cut the shapes themselves (if you feel they are ready) and glue the shapes to the plate.  Whatever color construction paper you have on hand will work well.  I had some glitter paper in our crafting drawer so I used that. 

Here's What You'll Need For Your Halloween Cat:

  • Construction Paper (Multiple colors.)
  • Scissors (adult scissors and/or preschool scissors.)
  • Glue (Elmer's glue and a glue stick.)
  • Q-tip (for the Elmer's glue.)
  • Paper Plate
  • Hole Punch
  • Ribbon (to hang the plate.)




Time to cut the shapes. 
Feel free to cut everything free form unless your preschooler is going to be doing the cutting. Then it's best to trace the shapes on the paper. As you can see here I chose to cut everything free form to give it more of a "homemade craft look."
Please assist your preschooler during the cutting process.



Oval shape for the head. 


2 large triangles for the ears
1 small triangle for the nose




6 whiskers. 3 per side.




A mouth and a tongue.




2 large circles for the eyes.
2 smaller black "circles" for pupils.
1 medium circle as an accent for the hair bow (for a girl cat.)



Optional: Hair bow for a girl cat.
(In the shape of a piece of candy.)




  • After you cut everything out talk about each shape and count how many sides it has.
  • Poke holes in your plate and tie the ribbon through to hang it when you are done.
  • I used the plastic painting palate for the glue. Then we dipped the q-tip in the glue.
  • We glued the face shape to the plate first then added all other pieces to the face.
  • We used the glue stick for the larger pieces and the Elmer's glue for the smaller pieces.
  • Feel free to "crinkle" the whiskers by folding the ends into thirds to give them a 3-D look. (See Mama Cat below.)
  • Please note that the scissors shown here are adult scissors only.


Baby Cat
Mama Cat

Did your child make a Halloween Kitty Cat?
Please share your craft with us when you are done. Post it to our facebook page and we'll add it here!

Have a fun, safe & Happy Halloween!


*heart*
Coco Cana

Monday

DIY Mama! Preschool Halloween Goodie Bags & Teachable Moments: Name Tags

My daughter's preschool is having a little Halloween party next week so we're making some goodie bags for all of the kids in her class. She goes three days a week so she'll actually be going to two Halloween parties at her school, so we decided to make bags for both parties. She only has about 8 kids in each class with a teacher and a helper (which is AWESOME!) We love her school and her teachers and feel very blessed to be there because she loves going to school. It took a while to find a good fit, but now we're finally in a preschool we all like and in one we feel works well with what our "preschool objectives" are.

She wanted to put each child's name on the bags so I was trying to think of something cute.  We ended up making name sticks together.  I made something similar to this for Valentine's Day with hearts that my daughter colored instead of rectangles and it came out pretty cute so we decided to try it for Halloween.



We're going to put them into the bag sticking out of the top with a ribbon tied around the top of the bag and the stick holding them in place.  (See Part 2 - avail soon.)


How To Make Name Sticks

What you'll need:

  • Halloween Stickers (I found these cute ones with little costumed kids in the $1.00 bin at Target the other day.)
  • Colored Construction Paper (Dollar Store) 
  • Crafting Scissors ($1.00 bin at Target)
  • Crafting Sticks/Popsicle Sticks (You can find these anywhere; the Dollar Store, Target, Michaels, etc. I actually got these from Starbucks. They are the coffee stir sticks. I have become friends with the girl who works there since it's Pumpkin Spice Latte Season and all, and I asked her if I could have a few of them for our craft. I like them because they are thinner than regular popsicle sticks and if you need to cut them, you can just use regular scissors and they cut in half very easily.)
  • Tape
  • Colored Markers
  • A 4 year old to help you! 


How To Make Them & How To Involve Your Child As Much As Possible:

I used a pack of post-it notes to measure the size of my rectangular name tags making sure that the sticker of the Halloween Kid would fit before cutting them out.  After everything was measured and marked I cut them all out with my crafting scissors. Miss Preschooler chose to use orange paper for the girls and green paper for the boys. After I cut them out I marked along the edges with a colored marker to highlight the cute edge.

Teachable Moment:

  • We talked about how a rectangle has 4 sides and that 2 of the sides are shorter and 2 sides are longer. Not like a square which has all 4 sides equal (or the same length.) 
  • We also talked about the safe way to use scissors since she was getting all willy nilly with them! 
  • We talked about what you can find in nature that is naturally orange and green. "Oranges, grass, leaves, butterflies and of course pumpkins and pumpkin vines."


I placed the sticker of the Halloween Kid and then wrote the names of each child in her class. Miss Preschooler added the accent stickers around the perimeter of the names.  Mama Preschooler may or may not have "repositioned" a few of the stickers if they were covering part of the child's name. Creative license.

I had her "read" each name to me and she got to choose who got which sticker as their Halloween Kid. These were very big decisions, let me tell you!  We decided that the Mummy Kid (pictured below) could go for either a boy or a girl, and she chose that sticker for her name stick.


Teachable Moment:

  • We talked about what the perimeter was. "The path that surrounds an area."
  • I spelled each name out loud as I wrote it and had her watch each letter. I made sure to write the letters the same way they teach the kids in school. However, I forgot I was doing that when I made the "Z" for Zander's name. I did the funky thing where you put the line through the middle - old habit from high school.  She was like, "Mommy, what is THAT?!" LOL!  I didn't change it because we ran out of Halloween Kid stickers or else I would have. Sorry Zander.
  • As I wrote each name we talked about the first letter of the name and sounded it out. We also talked about what other words start with that letter. ("S", "Sssssss", "Su-Su-Summer. "S," "Sa-Sa-Sandwich" as she pointed to her sandwich.)
  • We also talked about how even though the Witch sticker was a "girl" and the Frankenstein sticker was a "boy" that she could like any of them for her name tag. A boy could have the Witch and a girl could have Frankenstein and that it didn't matter to me what she wanted. We ended up putting "boy stickers" for boys and "girl stickers" for girls because I didn't want to possibly weird any of the parents out. I don't know if it would have, but you never know. And since the stickers were pretty gender specific, I just stuck with that. But in talking to my daughter about I said that girls and boys can like whatever they like regardless if it's "supposed" to be for a girl or a boy. I have to say that a part of me was pleased that she choose the Mummy for her name tag and not the Witch or the Pumpkin just because they were the "girl stickers." 




Then we taped each stick to the back with two pieces of tape, "just in case."  I took the tape off the dispenser and held the stick in place and my helper did, "the fun part" and stuck the tape to the stick. After a few she held the stick in place and taped it all by herself. (She insisted.) Mama however, was still the keeper of the tape. I know my audience and we didn't need THAT much tape! After the fact I thought I should write her name on the back so the kids will know who it's from. So please feel free to notice the sloppy writing. (See pic below.) The stick made me do it!






Teachable Moment:

    I ran out of patience for a teachable moment on the tape. Lil Miss Persistent got a little too "wild" towards the end of our project, Baby Brother had just gotten up from his nap and I just wanted to wrap production before dinner so I was all like, "because I said so" about mama holding the tape.  Or something like that. Haha.



    We're all done with our Halloween Goodie Bag Name Sticks and they turned out pretty cute!  Did you find Zander's yet? "Mommy, what is THAT?!"


    Side Note
    There were a few "Devil Girls" in the sticker pack too, but I decided not to use them. My daughter's preschool is affiliated with a Christian church and I thought that some of the parents and teachers might be offended with it, even though it is Halloween and it's a kid's sticker of a cute little girl dressed up in a Halloween costume. So I ended up making some sticks for our Trick-Or-Treat candy bowl for Halloween night.  I think they are pretty cute. I used to know a grandma who'd say, "Your horns are showing" whenever someone was being "naughty." Young or old she'd say that to you.  It was pretty funny.



    What are your thoughts? Please share below!
    1. Would the "Devil Girl" sticker bother you if your child was going to a Christian preschool?
    2. Would you be offended if your boy got a name tag sticker of a "girl witch" even if you saw that there were "boy" stickers available?
    3. Am I being overly PC and sensitive about the whole thing since these kids are only in preschool?



    Sunday

    DIY Mama! Halloween Costumes: Paint Your Preggo Belly Like a Jack-o-Lantern!

    DIY Mama! Homemade Halloween Costumes Featuring: Mama Pumpkin!!





    The little ones can't have all the fun this Halloween.  If you are rocking the preggo belly in full swing this candy grabbin' season, go all out and flaunt that cute baby belly of yours!

    That is exactly what a friend of mine did the night before her October Baby was born!

    Mama Pumpkin decided to entertain her hubby by painting her baby belly to look like a Jack-o-Lantern. The awesome part is, she did it herself upside down in the mirror!  That is some pretty stellar painting skills I have to say. It looks so perfect I assumed she had it done at a face painting place or something. I'm not even sure I could do that good of a job painting someone else's preggo belly, let alone my own - at 9 months pregnant!  I was lucky if I saw my belly button so there was no way I could paint steady lines on that puppy.

    But not Mama Pumpkin!  She was all baby and figured since that was as big as she was going to get on her last night of being pregnant and she looked like a pumpkin anyway (her words!) she was going to rock it.


     This is what you'll need to transform your baby belly into Mama Pumpkin:


    • Halloween face painting paint (Walgreens) *You can find Halloween face painting paint pretty much anywhere this time of year. Or you can use regular, non-toxic finger paint for the rest of the year. 
    • Mirror
    • Preggo belly! (It's best if you are really popping out or else someone might wonder why the heck you painted your belly.)
    • Someone to entertain. (The baby's daddy is always an easy target for this one.)


    Have fun and don't forget to take a picture for the baby book!


    Have a fun, safe & Happy Halloween!


    *heart*

    Thursday

    Halloween Top Ten - But Mommy, I want to be a [fill in the blank]!


    Picking my daughter's Halloween costume used to be pretty simple when she was a baby and a toddler. We liked Disney, she liked princesses - our decision was made before we even went shopping. For her first Halloween she was Tinkerbell (Mommy's pick), second she was Snow White (Daddy's pick) and for her third Halloween she chose Princess Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty. This year I thought it'd be a no-brainer - till she threw me a total curve ball. Can you guess which one? So in the spirit of Trick or Treat, here are 6 costume conflicts to let you know you're not alone.

    The Toddler Boy
    Your choice That cool NASA astronaut costume Dad just knew he'd love
    His choice What he wore to the grocery store last Tuesday: cowboy boots, monkey PJs, torn superman cape, pirate eye patch and Buzz Light Year gloves – or he’ll throw a fit.

    The Toddler Girl
    Your choice A cute little bumble bee with glitter wings and black-and-yellow striped tights
    Her choice The tall, bumpy red thing with fangs and one eye, aka Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba

    The Preschool Boy
    Your choice A fireman, because he's always wearing his favorite fireman rainboots
    His choice The fairy princess costume, with wand, wings and plastic click-clack shoes his older sister wore last Halloween.

    The Preschool Girl
    Your choice You scored the last Rapunzel costume in town - and even took out a small loan for the long wig (not included), because Rapunzel was her all-time favorite movie... last week
    Her "I want to be a bat and paint my face black."
    You “Oooo, I know! How about Hello Kitty?”
    Her “I want to be a bat.”
    You “Cinderella?”

    The Tween
    Your choice The HSM cheerleading costume you just bought because she's been talking about it for months
    Her choice Your 10-year-old and her friends want to be “sexy Goth cheerleaders”: purple and black hair streaks, knee-high socks, fishnet gloves (torn), black lipstick
    You "Did you just say 'sexy?'"
    Her Rolls eyes
    You "I'm NOT returning the HSM costume!"

    Infant babe

    Your choice A cute round pumpkin costume, “Mommy's Little Pumpkin” socks, $35 soft leather shoes with jack-o-lanterns and a little pumpkin stem hat complete with leaf and curly vine.
    Baby’s, um, choice The neon orange “This Is My Costume” onesie your husband found on sale at the drugstore on Halloween after the baby blew out her diaper, pooped out the neckhole of the poofy pumpkin costume and before you could remove the poopy diaper from the changer, donkey-kicked both feet right into the poop getting socks, shoes and legs covered. Trick or Treat?

    Your turn. What was your favorite costume choice that never saw the light of the moon? What was your least favorite costume pick that rose from the dead?


    (*This was originally posted on October 26, 2011 for mom365 where I landed my first gig as freelance writer for mom's blogs. This was my debut post which had 2469 views before they launched their new site and it no longer fit into their new format of either being a Pregnancy, Baby, Toddler or Preschooler Blog. So it will live on here for many Halloween's to come! ;-) Click here to read more of my Top Ten Lists on Mom365.)



    Have a fun, safe & Happy Halloween!


    *heart*
    Coco Cana


    Need a cute idea for a DIY Homemade Halloween Costume that you don't even have to sew? Click here! 




    Tuesday

    DIY Mama! Homemade Halloween Costumes! Would You Like To Be Featured?

    Are you a crafty mama who's having a ghoulishly good time making your child's Halloween costume?  Are you dying to share your creative side with the world?  Would you like to take a stab at having your talents displayed on My Tales From The Crib?

    Alright, alright, you get the point. 

    I am featuring some talented mama's who are willing to treat us all by giving up their tricks on how they made their child's costume. If this is you and you'd like to be featured on the My Tales From The Crib - DIY Mama!  Homemade Halloween Costumes (2012 segment), then submit your pics and info to me by Friday, October 26, 2012 (evening-ish) for a chance to be featured on our blog!



    Here's what I'll need from you:

    • A list of the stuff you bought and a list of the stuff you made.
    • A brief "How To" list on the stuff you made.
    • A few pictures of the costume and one with your child* wearing it. (*Optional)
    • A little back story behind the costume. Who's idea was it and why?
    • Follow my blog.  You could win a FREE coffee if you do. 
    • Email me the info by Friday, October 26, 2012 (evening-ish) to be considered. 

    P.S. Ladies, it DOES NOT have to be from this year!  Heck, it can even be from when YOU were a kid!  Just get the info from mom.  Or if it was me and my bro it involved tin foil, wire coat hangers, paper bags from Ralph's and permanent markers cuz...uh... my brother and I were lame. haha. Actually we had really cute costumes as kids and they were pretty much all homemade because no one really bought costumes in the 80's. At least we didn't!  I think my brother was a "soccer player" for about 3+ years in a row. All different colors from all different teams and of course he wore his cleats leaving mud and grass pods all up and down the block!  LOL!  Epic costume choice, Shaun! The neighbors loved it!  haha!

    Hmmm....that could be fun...I'll have to dig up some old pics!  ;-)

    Annnnnnyway... back to the blog post.

    Here is an example post of our current DIY Mama!  Homemade Halloween Costumes: "The Tooth Fairy."

    ***Please note that it does not have to be this elaborate. My friend Karina, (aka Mama Tooth Fairy) is a professional. Seriously, she's insanely crafty and talented and her attention to detail will make you weep. Do not attempt a post like this at home!  I repeat, "Do not attempt a post like this at home!" 

    All kidding aside, it seriously does not have to be this fancy!  It can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. Wait til you see my personal DIY Halloween Costume post. The Tooth Fairy will put me to shame for sure. 


    Have a fun, safe and Happy Halloween!


    *heart*
    Coco Cana


    UPDATED - Happy Fall! Who Wants A FREE Pumpkin Spice Latte?

    **SEE UPDATED NOTE BELOW**

    I know you want me.





    OK, you're right, I went there. No shame.

    Raffle Time!

    I have a $5.00 Starbucks gift card with someone's name on it for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, in honor of my absolute favey fall drink.

    OK, OK, you can get whatever you want. Salted Caramel Mocha, Tazo Green Tea Latte, Orange Mango thingy...whateves.

    How to enter:

    Simply follow my blog.  Click on the "join" button to the right of the blog under, "The Christmas Card List" to do so. You can even use your google account now too. Then comment on this blog post to let me know you'd like to enter the raffle and after 25 total blog followers (I know, sad huh?...) I will pick a winner and announce it on my blog, my facebook page as well as on my twitter.

    If you get a friend to follow too I'll enter you twice!  Three for three...you get the picture.

    Already a blog follower?  THANK YOU first of all - and second, you can join my twitter or facebook page to enter.

    I'll be doing Mom Of The Month stories soon too, so be sure to become a blog follower even if you don't like coffee so you can join in on all the fun!

    Alrighty then I think my editor is going to pull the plug if I plug anything else.

    And thanks for reading and following. I hope I bring some small ray of sunshine to your blog reading enjoyment.





    **UPDATED NOTE**
    Alrighty folks, I've decided to do my coffee raffle early!  Woo Hoo!  I will be throwing all 15 names into a hat and picking a winner on Friday afternoon!  (October 26th.) Are you one of the 15 names I'll be choosing from? To enter, you'll need to be a follower on the My Tales From The Crib Blog. So if you are on my facebook page or if you are following me on twitter but not yet a follower on the actual blog, make sure you click the "Join" button by Friday morning for a chance to win a FREE coffee! Who doesn't like free?  Thanks for following!

    Have a fun, safe and Happy Halloween!


    *heart*
    Coco Cana

    Tweet! Tweet! I'm on Twitter.  
    Become a facebook friend! Stop by and say, "Hi!"  

    Saturday

    I Love You! I Accept You! No Strings Attached!



    Today the Friends Of Ricki facebook page asked this question:

    Do you love and accept your children for who they are with 
    no Strings Attached?


    I do and it inspired me to write this post. I absolutely love my children with no strings attached. I appreciate them for who they are and for the very different personalities they both have and I try to foster their creativity and passions even at such a young age. It's easier with my 4 1/2 yr old daughter who loves art and music, swimming, tae kwon do, etc., because she is more vocal with what she wants to do. But we're also learning with our lil guy who will turn 2 tomorrow! 

    He loves to dance so I try to play music for him everyday so he can get his boogie on! He goes crazy for So You Think You Can Dance and he tries to copy their moves whenever he's watching or hears music. His favorite dancer was Cyrus and he would just go wild watching him dance. He also loves to dress up in his sissy's princess dresses, high heel shoes, hats, necklaces, etc. He insisted on wearing my daughter's red Snow White t-shirt to Disneyland one day with his brown and green camo pants! It was pretty funny because we could not change his mind. My parents were taking the kids that day and I was impressed with them that they just let him roll as a Snow White army man. I loved that they didn't care that he wanted to wear a "girls shirt" to a very public place and just let him do what made him happy. They mentioned getting a few odd looks and some questions for it too. But who cares? He was only 18 months old! They remained positive in their answers to these questions too. 

    I love them for that!  Thanks mom & dad! 

    I have never once ever said to my children "that is only for boys" or "that is only for girls." Or "Boys don't do that" or "girls don't do that." Or, "You can't be that because you are a boy or because you are a girl."  And I hope I never will. You like what you like. My daughter loves to dig for worms and play with bugs, she loves science and nature. I call her my "lil Jane Goodall." Girls and boys should be free to be whomever they want. That is what makes the world a beautiful place when people have freedom of expression for who they truly are! 

    When I was in elementary school I said to my dad once, "Well girls can't be a plumber, right?" and he said, "why not?" and I said, "because that is a boy's job." My dad very lovingly said to his young, impressionable daughter waaaaaay back in the 80's, "You can do whatever makes you happy. Whether that means you are a truck driver or a plumber, a teacher, a doctor, a mom.  We just want you to be happy."

    Thank you Dad!  I love you for that.  I'll never forget that conversation for as long as I live. I pass those words of wisdom along to my children that you spoke to me oh-so-long-ago.  I never did want to become a plumber, but I always knew that if I did, I would be encouraged to do so. Thank you!

    How would you answer this question?  Comment below.

    "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
    -Oscar Wilde

    Friday

    A Morning of Clarity and Inspiration.

    Last weekend I went to the Mom Entrepreneur Success Conference 2012 through the National Association for Balanced Moms and it was a wonderful experience. I was their caption contest winner from a picture that was posted on their facebook page (see below).  It was posted back in July 2012 when the movie Magic Mike was in theaters and there was a lot of buzz surrounding the movie so that became my inspiration for what I wrote for the caption contest.

    Hello! Did you see it? OOOOOOMMMGGG! You should really see the movie if you haven't already... 

    Anyhoo....

    So one of the prizes to choose from was a ticket to the conference in September 2012. I'm glad I chose that prize because it was really inspiring!

    Two amazing women I met that day are the ladies from Mama-Time.




    They are Shaila Saint and Mollie Bennett and they offer up plenty of positive, inspiring and informative goodness for women and moms.

    Need a new Monday morning ritual? 

    Staring Monday, October 8, 2012 you can join them for a Mindful Mama Yoga & Reflection class that is an 8-week series. You can sign up for the whole series or you can take it whenever it fits into your schedule. They are moms too, so they are very aware that it can be difficult to get away when you have children.  So come when you can!  In this class they offer gentle yoga, journaling and a discussion along with some yummy breakfast treats!  Seriously, they had me at breakfast treats.  Classes are from 9:30-11am in Long Beach at Marina Vista Park. Click here for more info.

    Looking for a fun cooking class?  

    On Saturday, October 20, 2012 from 4:30-9pm they are offering, "Here Come the Holidaze" Cooking Party led by Food Network Chef, Rahm Fama!  Get tips on putting together a delicious holiday menu complete with easy entertaining ideas. Come laugh, learn and eat at PREP Kitchen Essentials in Seal Beach, Ca. Click here for more info.

    Looking for a unique way to connect and spend time with your friends or mom's group?  

    They do House Parties too!  These ladies seriously do it all and I'm so fortunate to have met them.  I look forward to taking their classes and joining their workshops in the future.

    Their goal is to Connect, Reflect and Refuel and that is exactly what I did this past Monday in the preview class for their Mindful Mama Yoga & Reflection series.  After a busy morning of getting the kids out of the house, sitting in traffic, changing poopy diapers and diffusing the usual rush-rush morning tantrums I met these amazing women on the grass at the park (by myself!) for a morning devoted to...ME!

    What a novel idea. 

    I was ready for some long over due yoga stretches, discussions with other moms, breaking in my beautiful brand new journal (thanks for the birthday gift mom!) and of course yummy breakfast treats and coffee! What I wasn't ready for, or should I say, what I wasn't anticipating was what a profound impact this class would have on me in only an hour and a half. I was truly inspired by the beautiful surroundings of nature and sunshine, the positive energy of the other women that day, by the words and stories that were bravely shared, by the music that connected so deeply and of course the yummy breakfast treats!

    Yes, I know I'm aware of the issue I have going on here.  

    These weren't just any yummy breakfast treats either. These were the most magnificent little tarts I have ever had the pleasure of munching while doing downward dog. Ever heard of The Little Tart Bakery in Long Beach, Ca?  You have now! They do catering and they offer gluten-free and vegan tarts too!  Gotta love 'em!

    So these super duper little kick ass tarts were the breakfast treats served and yummy treats they were! She brought sweet ones and savory ones - both delicious! Now that I mention it I'm bummed that I didn't take a picture of them because they were yummy and beautiful. So that was a fun treat indeed.

    This class ended up being exactly what I needed. I have been feeling so stressed and overwhelmed lately (as mentioned in this post) I wasn't sure if I was really going to be able to "let go" in this class to be honest. I went with the hopes of possibly just absorbing the positive energy to be stored and channeled later when I needed it. But things don't always happen the way we might plan them out in our heads.  I've always been a Pilates girl but enjoyed yoga and meditation during both of my pregnancies. I appreciate the inward reflection yoga offers and the stillness I eventually get to during meditation. That is once I let all the chatter quiet in my brain. It takes a while usually and this class offered that. I also loved being able to have the opportunity to share with other woman and mothers who have been where I've been and who could share words of encouragement and words of understanding for where I'm going.

    I wasn't expecting the tears that would burn my cheeks as they rolled down my face during the poses and breathing. I'm not surprised though. When I was studying The Pilates Method back in '05 one of the things I learned as well as witnessed with my own clients was that emotions can be released through deep breathing. It's not uncommon for someone to break out into sobs while doing the hundreds in a Pilates mat class.  It can catch you off guard if you are not prepared for it or if you didn't realize you were holding on to so much pain.

    Cheap therapy I say.

    So once I switched my brain to only focusing on myself (a technique that is pretty difficult for most mothers yet perfected in toddlers, young children, teenagers and actors - I kid, I kid), I was able to finally "let go."

    This is what I came away with during my morning of clarity and inspiration:

    "Today in the sun,
    and in the breeze,
    beneath the trees...

    I let go.

    I left the baggage and the burdens, 
    I admitted the ugly truth 
    ...to myself
    - this black hatred 
    - the fear 
    - the sorrow...

    and I shed it.

    I dropped it.

    I crumpled it like a dry orange leaf poking into my hands and sent it floating away with the wind.

    It drifted

    and I shifted -

    my body, my thoughts and my anger.

    Today I'm just trying to

    let it go..."

    -Coco Cana


    P.S. I would like to note here for all to read that out of respect for my husband and my two darling children, that they are neither baggage nor burden. They are not the source of hatred.  They are not  who or what I was referring to in my journal writing that morning.  I don't usually feel the need to justify what I write, however, I am well aware of the fact that this is going into the "forever-to-be-read-and-referenced-to-at-any-time-in-the-future-by-anyone-in-the-world" internet and I just want them to know that when and if they read this someday, I'm not talking about them here. That would break my heart if it was ever taken that way.  However, it is my goal to be as open an honest with myself as well as to my readers here on my mom's blog so I wanted to share what I jotted down while sitting in the sun on my yoga mat devouring little tarts.


    So, if you are in or anywhere near the Long Beach, Ca area you really MUST check out the fabulous ladies at MamaTime and join them for some fun as well as The Little Tart Bakery!  If you do Please be sure to tell them My Tales From The Crib sent you!  Thank you and hope to see you at one of the classes!



    Oh and here's the pic and my caption from the caption contest:


    "Shut up! He did not just say that Magic Mike is some stupid chick flick! You tell him it's a legitimate film with quality acting and a believable story line. It was directed by Steven Soderbergh! Hello?...academy award anyone?! I laughed, I cried. It should win a damn oscar!"


    kinda silly, huh?  haha.


    If you would like me to review your class, your workshop or your bakery... I'd be happy to!  Please contact me via my comments section with your email and I will email you.  Thank you!


    Let's keep the conversation going over on our facebook page, My Tales From The Crib!

    Do You Use Your Wedding China?

    I was just putting away my dishes and noticed that the "everyday" dinnerware we got for our wedding has a lot of chips, scratches and dings in it. Mostly from being washed in the dishwasher which is unfortunate.  My dishes are getting ruined because I'm using a device that is supposed to be a more efficient and convenient way to wash my dishes. I was just thinking that I'm glad my wedding china isn't all dinged up.  But then again, we don't really use our wedding china. Our "everyday" dishes are well loved and get eaten off of...well, everyday.

    I usually bring out our wedding china for holiday dinners and stuff like that, but so far I haven't let the kids eat off of it. I probably should. What good are dishes doing me when they are wrapped up in tissue in our china cabinet only to be brought out at special occasions - but only for the adults?

    Do you have wedding china?  And if so, do you use it?  Do you let your kids eat off of it?  Why?  Why not?

    Comment below!

    Thursday

    The next time my kids fight, I just might break out into song.

    My funny friend Regina posted this on her facebook page and I just cracked up, so I had to share it here.




    I have a 4 1/2 year old and an almost 2 year old (in 3 days actually!), so I find myself yelling "STOP!" quite often.  I'm either yelling "STOP!" because I'm keeping someone from running out into the street, keeping someone from reaching up to touch a hot stove or I'm keeping them from shredding a toy in half with the toy tug-of-war/screaming match that is going on over here on a daily basis.

    I feel like a traffic cop with how much I'm yelling "STOP!"  So the next time I yell, "STOP!" I just might break out into song!  The tough part is choosing which one.

    What's your fave?  Comment below!





    P.S. This is just another example of why I loved my whole water birth/home birth experience. Regina was my nurse at the birth center.  I say, "my nurse" because at the time, she was the only nurse who took care of all the moms-to-be before the midwife came in.  She brought such comfort, joy, laughter, and light to all of my appointments!  Where before when I was going to the OB through my insurance I saw different people all the time and I could hardly get anyone to look me in the eye let alone remember my name, and then have them as a facebook friend. Heck my OB didn't even have a clue who I was when I passed him in the hallway and said, "hi" before my final appointment with him. I noticed the puzzled look on his face so I said my name to spark a memory (which still didn't ring a bell) and I was 25+ weeks along!  (That's close to 7 months pregnant for those of you keeping score at home.) That was very frustrating for me because I felt like a number. That doesn't really work for me. Especially when I'm going through one of the most life changing experiences in my life and want my voice to be heard when it comes time to push that puppy out.  I don't know about you, but I don't do well with just being a nameless, faceless number getting lost in the system.  

    I met Regina at my very first appointment at South Coast Midwifery in Irvine, Ca and since she was anticipating my first appointment anyway she already knew my name when I walked in the door and was greeted with a big smile. It was the little things like that that completely made my pregnancy and water birth with my sweet lil baby boy a very magical and memorable experience. And she is still making me laugh all the time with silly posts like this one.  Thanks Regina!  So glad you were my nurse!  


    BTW - If you know who made this "sign" please let me know so I can give them credit!  Because I didn't make it. I'm just sharing it. Thx!

    Post Of The Week!

    Motherhood: A Poem

    back breaking arms aching mind worn out and tired patience gone days are long somedays I wish I could get fired Laundry is piling an ...

    Check These Out!