Surprise! It's a baby! (Not long now!)

[PoppyGirl]

Those chocolate bird's nests look yummy! And I'm loving the "Dr Pooh" shirt.

 

[RachVH]

That game looks like fun! We've started our own little movie nights, but we have to do them much more frequently since we want to watch a bunch of movies before we leave in 38 days! Since my (always-the-engineer) DH has determined that we have to watch them in chronological order (by release date) last night we watched Snow White and Pinnochio is on deck tonight. It's going to be a while before I get to watch Lilo & Stitch!

 

[Alysa]

Those chocolate bird's nests look yummy! And I'm loving the "Dr Pooh" shirt.

Thanks Poppy! Have you seen Asylum of the Daleks yet?

That game looks like fun! We've started our own little movie nights, but we have to do them much more frequently since we want to watch a bunch of movies before we leave in 38 days! Since my (always-the-engineer) DH has determined that we have to watch them in chronological order (by release date) last night we watched Snow White and Pinnochio is on deck tonight. It's going to be a while before I get to watch Lilo & Stitch!

Hi Rach - I can't believe your Disneymoon is only a month away! I totally get the chronological order thing. I originally planned to do that but because we are doing a meal and craft for each I had to rearrange them a bit to suit the time of year, my budget and the crazy circumstances lately. It was tough letting go of my OCD!

Update: We are all moved in - and "mostly" settled.

This is my kids and niece and nephew - all special delivery!
The new skating rink is a disaster (ugh!) but kids are very happy in their new rooms and the teachers and principal at the school seem nice. I've got to go out and pick up lots of little things for the house like new towels, picture frames, rugs. Also must start getting furniture for Robert's room! 51 days left! Just need to paint first. Spending the day shopping and getting organized today.

Also had a very good meeting with Eveie's psychologist yesterday. Turns out she is gifted but with ADHA Inattentive (new term for what ADD used to be) and a learning disorder that means the info goes in weird but she is so clever she kind of figures it out anyway. So relieved. Her teacher last year seemed to think she wasn't very bright so it's nice to have this report for her new school. Turns out there is lots we can do to help her and we've already started with typing lessons last night. It made her feel a lot better to be able to tell her what is wrong and how we are going to help. It will be lots of work but there is nothing else more worthy of my effort.

Now for the fun stuff. Bug's Life movie night!

I went to Home Outfitters and got a little leaf bowl and filled it with berries and seeds and we had it beside the pool at my sisters. Then for the craft, we did a watercolour background and foreground and then punched the foreground out with a butterfly shaped punch. Then we folded the butterflies a bit and glued to the background. Daughter loved hers! The photo doesn't really do it justice, need to go and get a shadow box frame for it for her new room. And I must figure out what to do next. Probably finish up some crafts that are waiting for completion. And maybe Aristocats next?

Anyway, hope you all had a great first week back to school with the kids! Hugs!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi there Alyssa! You are getting close to your blessed little ones arrival! How exciting!

Wow! You moved!! Glad to know that you are "mostly" settled and can hopefully start to relax. Wait, what is that for a mom of little ones??

I must say again - I love your creativity! Your kids are very fortunate to have you provide such great crafts/games/activities/meals.

How wonderful that your old place was rented sooner than expected and you don't have to double pay for too long. It's cool how some things work out that way.... I hope you receive similar good news regarding a new position for your DH soon as well.

Take care!

 

[RachVH]

Hi Rach - I can't believe your Disneymoon is only a month away!

I know! We are starting to get really excited now, as it is only a little over three weeks away! I think the honeymoon snuck up on us even more than the wedding did!

Also must start getting furniture for Robert's room! 51 days left! Just need to paint first. Spending the day shopping and getting organized today.

Oh my goodness you are getting close now! He is going to be here before you know it!

Also had a very good meeting with Eveie's psychologist yesterday. Turns out she is gifted but with ADHA Inattentive (new term for what ADD used to be) and a learning disorder that means the info goes in weird but she is so clever she kind of figures it out anyway. So relieved. Her teacher last year seemed to think she wasn't very bright so it's nice to have this report for her new school. Turns out there is lots we can do to help her and we've already started with typing lessons last night. It made her feel a lot better to be able to tell her what is wrong and how we are going to help. It will be lots of work but there is nothing else more worthy of my effort.

I am so glad to hear about this. It's so disheartening to hear that teachers still think that kids that don't think exactly the same way as everyone else are automatically not as "bright" as everyone else. Here's hoping that Eveie's new teacher really "gets" her and she is able to thrive in a new environment.

 

[Alysa]

Eveie had another tough day today. She was in a group of specially selected skaters attending a Starskate seminar. She messed up her jumps in her presentation and was soooo frustrated and disheartened. I know that competitive sport is supposed to be difficult, otherwise everyone would do it but, ugh! She's my baby girl and I just wish things could be a little, just a little easier for her lately. If I could do it for her I would! But I guess that is what makes sport such a great learning experience. Grrr.

So anyway, to make it a better day we came home and finished off the crafts for our triple bill of Melody Time, Make Mine Music and Fun and Fancy Free. I grouped all these short collections together for a triple bill one night. We did the dinner ages ago at my sisters - a Casey at the Bat hotdog stand! Toby drew up the menu, and as you can see, we had fudgsicles, hot dogs, caramel corn, pop, chocolate bars and rum & cokes (for daddies only!). The girls painted the beautiful awning and ran to change into appropriate clothing to operate the stand. They also got a toy cash register and I gave everyone about $7 in chocolate loonies and toonies to buy dinner with.

There were also two crafts because of it being a triple feature. Eveie did a Johnny Appleseed painting and Toby painted a flower pot (Star Wars themed like his bedroom) and we planted magic beans in it that will apparently carry him off to the giant's house tonight a la Mickey and the Beanstalk.

It was a lovely ending to our day. Now I'm off to finish the dessert for tomorrow night! Have a great evening all!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Alysa! I had to laugh because I was reading the menu in the photo before I read your post... I thought it amusing that a kid had added rum & coke to the menu. Makes total sense that it is for the daddies!!!

Sounds like you are such a great supportive mom for Eveie.

 

[Alysa]

Hi Alysa! I had to laugh because I was reading the menu in the photo before I read your post... I thought it amusing that a kid had added rum & coke to the menu. Makes total sense that it is for the daddies!!!
Sounds like you are such a great supportive mom for Eveie.

Thanks Brenda, I wish the rum and coke had been for me though! 49 days!

We recently did an unusual movie night. We all love Splash Mountain but none of us had ever seen the movie. Apparently it's quite easy to find in the UK but not even released here. So I went hunting and tracked down a copy. The kids and I watched it and I was shocked at the holes in my daughter's knowledge about slavery ( I know the movie was supposed to take place during reconstruction). So instead of doing a regular craft, we went online and researched the underground railway to Canada. I found this great site on scholastic and we spent several hours online researching and discussing slavery, civil rights, the underground railway and the civil war. It was a great learning experience for her and it was very memorable and meaningful for both of us. In the end she spent a couple more hours writing a journal entry about what she imagined it would be like being a slave escaping on the underground railway.
I hope I haven't offended anyone by choosing this movie night. I just have a thing about censorship and I'd much rather know what's out there. Plus the conversations we had about the movie were so important. I do think though that it's a movie that requires time and discussion so I understand Disney's reluctance to release it.
And because I LOVED the song in it "Sooner or Later" I made pie. I don't know which pie Aunt Tempy made (it looked dark like plums maybe?) so I did sweet potato pie with a br'er rabbit in crust on top. I hope that is a good choice for southern cuisine. By the way, so interesting, did you know that Hattie McDaniel was the first black woman to sing on radio in the States? Gorgeous song.
And my husband said he actually preferred the sweet potato pie to my pumpkin pie!
Next up, Oliver and Company.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Alysa! I commend you for taking the opportunity to have a teachable moment with your movie choice and activities. Looks like it served more of a purpose than simply to provide entertainment.

What a delicous looking pie! I'm sure it tasted as good as it looks.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Your movie nights are so cute, Alysa! That was a great idea to do the triple bill. I think I might have to do something similar. There are so many classic Disney toons that my kids haven’t seen. The Johnny Appleseed painting was very nice! The Star Wars/Disney flower pot was adorable!

I wasn’t offended by your choice of Song of the South, but I was a little surprised. You’re right, though, that there are certain things that shouldn’t be censored just because they are unpleasant. It does provide a great opportunity to open up discussion with kids because most schools that I have attended and that my children have attended have not given too much information on slavery. My kids really didn’t understand much about slavery and racism until I talked to them about it when they had questions. I might have to show them that movie myself just so that they can see the difference between now and then. They have seen a few old Disney cartoons and Bugs Bunny cartoons, and those always prompt discussions with my kids. It is wonderful that you were able to do research with your daughter! Also, that sweet potato pie looks pretty good!

 

[Alysa]

Hi Alysa! I commend you for taking the opportunity to have a teachable moment with your movie choice and activities. Looks like it served more of a purpose than simply to provide entertainment.
What a delicous looking pie! I'm sure it tasted as good as it looks.

Thanks Brenda! The pie was not as sweet and spicy as my pumpkin. I think you would prefer it to a pumpkin pie if you liked a more savory dessert. The top was really good though - it had a slightly caramelized sugar taste.

Your movie nights are so cute, Alysa! That was a great idea to do the triple bill. I think I might have to do something similar. There are so many classic Disney toons that my kids haven’t seen. The Johnny Appleseed painting was very nice! The Star Wars/Disney flower pot was adorable!
I wasn’t offended by your choice of Song of the South, but I was a little surprised. You’re right, though, that there are certain things that shouldn’t be censored just because they are unpleasant. It does provide a great opportunity to open up discussion with kids because most schools that I have attended and that my children have attended have not given too much information on slavery. My kids really didn’t understand much about slavery and racism until I talked to them about it when they had questions. I might have to show them that movie myself just so that they can see the difference between now and then. They have seen a few old Disney cartoons and Bugs Bunny cartoons, and those always prompt discussions with my kids. It is wonderful that you were able to do research with your daughter! Also, that sweet potato pie looks pretty good!

Thanks Erin. I hope that Eveie's gaps come because we live in a very multicultural city and that it would never occur to my daughter of mixed heritage herself that anyone should ever be judged based on the colour of their skin... The worst part of the whole movie for me was when they had set up Toby as being the friend of Johnny but he still did chores for him one morning (until they had a pillow fight together!) and he wasn't invited to Johnny's birthday. I actually saw the mother in the story as the main bad guy, just as much as the two bullies.

Disney update: Ugh! It's killing me!
WDW Character Hunt is reporting the characters appearing at the MNSSHP and there are 12 going to be there that we have not met yet Merida, Abu, the Seven Dwarfs, Jafar, Gaston, Lotso, Captain Hook, Cruella deVil, Dr. Facilier, Maleficent, the Snow Queen, and Frollo). How can I endure it!?! Next year. I'll just keep telling myself "Next year".

 

[Millie12591]

Alysa! I wanted to come and say congrats on your new little one on the way!!

All your movie nights are adorable!! You are so creative! I should show these ideas to my daughter, she's so geared that way and I am not. Wish I were, but I'm not.
I've even showed my hubby your craft ideas you've been doing, he's loved the Star Wars.

I'm so sorry for your loss, my mother is also battling cancer (breast and lung), she's been a smoker since she was 15 (she's now 63) and has not had a healthy diet for years. It certainly has helped me stay on task when it comes to eating healthier and to keep up with my exercise!! As you know I'm 61 lb. down and counting!!

Can't wait to see your little one come into this world!! I know he was a surprise, but I think those are the best kinds, both my kids were.

 

[Alysa]

Alysa! I wanted to come and say congrats on your new little one on the way!!
All your movie nights are adorable!! You are so creative! I should show these ideas to my daughter, she's so geared that way and I am not. Wish I were, but I'm not.
I've even showed my hubby your craft ideas you've been doing, he's loved the Star Wars.
I'm so sorry for your loss, my mother is also battling cancer (breast and lung), she's been a smoker since she was 15 (she's now 63) and has not had a healthy diet for years. It certainly has helped me stay on task when it comes to eating healthier and to keep up with my exercise!! As you know I'm 61 lb. down and counting!!
Can't wait to see your little one come into this world!! I know he was a surprise, but I think those are the best kinds, both my kids were.

Thanks Millie!
I think you are doing amazing! I love reading about your successes! Keep up the incredible work! My advice to you about your mum: write her a letter telling her how wonderful she is and how much you love her and how grateful you are to her. I wish I had sent more of those types of letters. And even though she will be sure to get better, everyone loves a letter like that to encourage them and keep in their memory box.
I actually have a fun, inexpensive craft for your husband since he is a Star Wars fan too. I got a $1 inexpensive mug from the supercentre when they went on sale and a porcelain pen from walmart and wrote the replies on this mug for my husband. I wrote his lines in pencil too and gave him the mug with the pen in it. I wrapped it up in a box with some star wars paper from dollerama and he LOVED IT! He said it made his week! He filled in his part of the quote (you just need to let it dry for 72 hours) and now he uses it every day for his coffee.

5 points to all my geek mom friends who know the quote is by!
Oh yes, and I wrote this on the bottom. Same couple, obviously!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Han Solo and Princess Leia! That is a really cool mug. What a great idea!

 

[Alysa]

5 points for Erin!

 

[Alysa]

So we did Oliver and Company for our movie night recently and I looked everywhere for linked sausages like Dodger steals in the film. I finally found them this week at a neighbourhood place called "The Healthy Butcher". The store makes them themselves and the kids loved them so much they and my husband said it was worth the extra expense.

My son also did a craft of a sunset scene of New York City to go with it. I had hoped to visit a dear friend who had moved there this year but again, it will have to wait a little. I had big plans for skating at Rockefeller Centre, a trip to the Lego flagship store and the American Girl store for tea, a visit to the Metropolitan Opera, along with about a million art galleries. One day!
I think the painting turned out rather nicely.

 

[Millie12591]

Thanks Millie!
I think you are doing amazing! I love reading about your successes! Keep up the incredible work!

Awww, Alysa.... Thank you!! I truly appreciate your kind words and encouragement. It means a lot to me.

My advice to you about your mum: write her a letter telling her how wonderful she is and how much you love her and how grateful you are to her. I wish I had sent more of those types of letters. And even though she will be sure to get better, everyone loves a letter like that to encourage them and keep in their memory box.

What a great idea. Thank you, I'll keep this one.

I actually have a fun, inexpensive craft for your husband since he is a Star Wars fan too. I got a $1 inexpensive mug from the supercentre when they went on sale and a porcelain pen from walmart and wrote the replies on this mug for my husband. I wrote his lines in pencil too and gave him the mug with the pen in it. I wrapped it up in a box with some star wars paper from dollerama and he LOVED IT! He said it made his week! He filled in his part of the quote (you just need to let it dry for 72 hours) and now he uses it every day for his coffee.

OMGosh! This is such a great idea!! You are so good with the ideas, girl!

5 points to all my geek mom friends who know the quote is by!
Oh yes, and I wrote this on the bottom. Same couple, obviously!

I so totally knew it too. Which is rather shocking!

So we did Oliver and Company for our movie night recently and I looked everywhere for linked sausages like Dodger steals in the film. I finally found them this week at a neighbourhood place called "The Healthy Butcher". The store makes them themselves and the kids loved them so much they and my husband said it was worth the extra expense.

My son also did a craft of a sunset scene of New York City to go with it. I had hoped to visit a dear friend who had moved there this year but again, it will have to wait a little. I had big plans for skating at Rockefeller Centre, a trip to the Lego flagship store and the American Girl store for tea, a visit to the Metropolitan Opera, along with about a million art galleries. One day!
I think the painting turned out rather nicely.

Oooh, sweetie....you'll get to do all those things. Be patient and know that the baby stage doesn't last forever, the pregnancy feels like it, but you know that comes eventually too.
Hang in there, there is life after having kids, you just thought it was coming a little sooner, huh?

By the way, your son did an amazing painting!! I'm super impressed! Who needs museums when you can see this at home!!

 

[Alysa]

Oooh, sweetie....you'll get to do all those things. Be patient and know that the baby stage doesn't last forever, the pregnancy feels like it, but you know that comes eventually too.
Hang in there, there is life after having kids, you just thought it was coming a little sooner, huh?
By the way, your son did an amazing painting!! I'm super impressed! Who needs museums when you can see this at home!!

Thanks Millie - you are a sweetheart!

I so totally knew it too. Which is rather shocking!

Five points for you as well!

So this weekend we did some catch up on some movie nights as we were running behind quite a bit because of the move to the new house.

We did volcano cakes because it has been so long since I watched the movie and I think I was getting it a bit mixed up with Fantasia. My husband said that flaming marshmallows from when we went camping this summer in Algonquin would have been more true to the meteor in the movie. (Eveie tried to put the flames on her marshmallow for her s'more out by waving it in the air and instead it burned even brighter and was sent flying towards her brother, almost causing HIS extinction!) We were too busy trying to avoid conflagration to take photos and I am NOT staging that! And it is still appropriate as learning experience because it is a possible reason for their eventual extinction. And it was more yummy than a burning marshwallow! ANYWAY!

For crafts we just did a couple of kits from the dollar store. Toby loved the excavation of the dinosaur egg so much he said he would like to change his university major from astrophysics to archeology. We also built a model out of wood which he also enjoyed. I find that with two children with such different tastes and abilities, it's sometimes easier to take turns with their crafts and activities.

Oh! And the fun thing was I let them watch Doctor Who's Dinosaurs on a Spaceship on Friday. Then Saturday morning after figure skating and hockey we stopped at the Salvation Army to see if they had any of the Disney movies we were still missing on VHS. While we were there we saw THIS!

Eveie bought her for $10 for Robert. I remember when these first came out a couple of years ago but I thought Toby was getting too big to justify the expense because at the time they were something like $500! We named her Tricey in honour of Doctor Who and the kids have been feeding her for two days now. So it ended up being a very Dinosaur-y weekend!

 

[Alysa]

We also finished up The Emperor's New Groove this weekend. We had done Spinach Puffs for the food the day before we moved and Eveie made them 100% by herself (after MUCH discussion and planning before hand). I highly recommend this as an easy and delicious snack that you can use as a great recipe for teaching kids how to cook. Here is the hero shot of the finished product:

I had to put this shot in too though because it shows how proud she was of herself!

While I was in university I took some animation classes. I've always dreamed of working for Disney because I love it so much. So for the craft I took some of the kids favourite sayings from the movie and showed them the basics of animation and how any of their favourite characters can be found using basic shapes like circles. They really enjoyed it so I think we'll have another class for another movie night sometime. After they did the basics with finding the circles that make up the basic structure using a pale blue pencil crayon, I let them trace the character (Bucky!). I know that with children, the biggest hurdle with drawing can be that they can become frustrated and give up when they are dis-satisfied with how similar their drawing looks to what they were drawing. The quotes below the characters are "This is the last time we get directions from a squirrel!" and "Squeaker Squeak Squeak Squeakin'. You owe me a new acorn." Then I put them in small fridge magnet frames I got from the dollar store. Our old fridge was stainless steel and now we can cover the fridge with magnets and photos again!

 

[Alysa]

So my Aristocat movie night looks rather bad in photos but my daughter who is absolutely besotted with cats LOVED this one. Poor her, her mother is deathly allergic. I bought her a sparkly Halloween cat mask at the dollar store and she dressed up all in black with a tail and everything. I also got inexpensive cat dishes at Home Outfitters and I served her salmon and milk in them, which of course she tried to eat and drink without using her hands. That idea was quickly quashed. Her brother ate and drank his like a normal human being. I don't know why the photos came out looking so dreadful - cooked fish is hard to photograph I guess.

And this evening we also finished the craft for her, a Marie tissue box cover. I KNOW it looks a bit creepy but she adores it. And it was great for teaching her beginning sewing techniques. She was very proud of herself and wants to do more sewing so I'll have to think of something else. Maybe a Disney park bag? Perhaps a Princess and the frog - green lined with Tiana fabric and a water lily attached? We'll see!