Fashion Friday

Welcome to the latest and greatest in kid fashion! If you've got some great fashion going on in your house, go post your fashion photos of the week, come back and link up, and then grab your sparking grape juice on ice, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

This week's two-year-old special is all about headgear. Hats, masks, hoodies - they are all in. Just no barrettes or headbands, please.

We'll start with the classic springtime concept of Little Bo Peep, who has lost her sheep. She is counting to 100 before seeking them.

Here you'll see the ageless "angel" dress pattern that Esmé adores (her Mommy had an identical dress when she was 10 or so, sewed by her sister, just a different print). Covered by a pastel blue jacket and a PINK hat. And flowery pink pants on for warmth in this sub-freezing weather.
While we're on the subject of fairy tales, here's the bonnet worn in the classic rendition of the Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe (and who chased after the gingerbread man so she could give her children a snack).
Tiger masks are a must when reading books about tigers, which are very popular among two-year-olds these days. Very classic.

Enough classic already. Hoodies are not just a teen fad. Two-year-olds can wear them with panache, too. Especially when they have Eeyore ears on them.

OK, folks, here's where you get to share the catwalk! Link up your favorite fashion shot(s) of the week...

Review: Rain Dance

As the mom-blog world mourns two-year-old Bryson Ross's death today, I'm reminded of what an awesome privilege and gift it is to be a mother.

Joy DeKok, in her book Rain Dance, adds some depth to understanding that gift.
---------------
Rain Dance is a 348-page contemporary Christian women's fiction book published by Sheaf House, with a list price of $12.99. To find out more, check out raindancebook.com.

In addition to coaching other authors, author Joy DeKok has written several children's books, fulfilling a dream of hers that began when she was four. She and her husband enjoy the kids in their lives by spending time riding on their Jon Deere Gator, walking in the woods, or sitting down by the bullfrog bog watching the dragonflies and red-winged blackbirds who live in their cattail patch. Joy also reads to kids who visit, fixes root beer floats, and listens to their dreams.

Here's the publisher's summary of Rain Dance: "Jonica and Staci meet in a doctor's office at a critical turning point in each of their lives. Jonica is ending unsuccessful infertility treatments and accepting the death of her dream of having children. Staci is scheduling the termination of her pregnancy so she can further her dream of a career in law. As the two young women tentatively reach out to each other, they forge a most unlikely friendship that will forever transform their future."

My Review

This is a pro-life book, but it is so much more than that. It touches on so many issues, not just the ethics of abortion and fertility treatments. It deals with the value of life, Christian judgmentalism, women's lib, empty politics, postpartum depression, family relationships, and the role of husbands and wives. It touches on Down syndrome, of particular interest to me because I work with people who have disabilities.

Ultimately, this is a story of unfathomable grace and mercy. There is no judgment to be found here, and I can honestly recommend the book to any reader of any background.

The author writes in first person and switches between the two women's perspectives throughout the book to provide an easy-to-follow and well-balanced view of the storyline.

In a way, Jonica's story is author Joy's story, and you can sense the connection with the writer in the book. I can truly empathize better now with those dealing with infertility. And I'm reminded to treasure each moment I have with my little girl - to love those rain dances...

And what's amazing is that Joy is able to write a book that presents not only her side, but the side of the woman who has voluntarily terminated her pregnancy, with empathy and understanding.

The powerfully-moving story ends with a dance in God's cleansing rain as the characters celebrate His mercy and love.

Thanks to Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the review copy of this book. If you're interested in winning a copy, check out Winning Readings for a giveaway.

The Toddler Workshop

We've been busy here at Santa's Esmé's workshop! Here is our belated 13 list of toddler-made "useful" gift ideas, most of which will be accompanied by a text or quote tied on with a ribbon.

1. The Wrapping. You can make wrapping paper, or decorate plain white gift bags like we did! I made handprint trees with green paint (a red fingerprint trunk) and a star sticker,

and on the other side I did cookie cutter prints with red paint. We had 26 bags, which was a bit much for me, but Mommy made sure I did at least part of each bag.
And I got elaborate on some, with stamps and stickers and all...
2. Soap Snowballs. (Isaiah 1:18) This was my favorite so far! Mommy's had a hard time keeping me from playing with the balls now that they are done... Pappa doesn't quite understand their purpose, but even if they fall apart in the bath, they were fun to put together.

First Mommy grates 6 bars of white soap using a food processor (we used Olay - and it smells real good!). Then I pour water into the soap "snow" to get it to snowball texture.
Then we form it into balls and put the balls on a cookie sheet. And then the moose (or other small creature, but I LIKE moose) gets slammed by the snowball...
Then you let the soap dry. But DON'T let it dry in front of the heater, cuz the soap will melt. And DON'T try this project when the water pipes are frozen and you have no water to rinse your hands with, or you will go through lots of wet wipes.

3. Potpourri Sachets. (Ephesians 5:2) Mommy thought of making sachet bags from tulle, but fortunately we found some ready-made ones on clearance, or this would've taken forever. I carefully filled up some of the bags with potpourri mix and helped close them. Now they can make someone's linen closet or underwear drawer smell good!
4. Tea Light Candles. (John 8:12) There are lots of things you can do with votive candles - like glue "snow" or tissue paper on the holders. And if you have extra baby food jars, you can use those for holders. Mommy found a bunch of yummy-smelling candles with holders on clearance, and we stayed simple and just put gem stickers on the holders.
5. Fridge Magnets. (Proverbs 18:24) We got this idea from I Believe in Love. The glass marbles we had were pretty small, so I just made colorful dots (and a couple of tiny faces) on a piece of paper,
and then we glued clear flat marbles on top. Then Mommy had to put the paper up high so I wouldn't tear the marbles off. Then we'll cut them out and glue magnet pieces on the back.
6. Bookmarks. I colored lots of bookmarks to go with the books we're giving away in those gift bags. Tip - to cover lots of paper, use watercolor paints... Lots of bookmark printables at Activity Village.

7. Wallet Calendars. (Ecclesiastes 3:1) We printed some wallet-sized calendars on cardstock from this Free Printable site. Now I'm going to decorate the backs and we'll laminate them to giveaway.

8. Handprint Gifts. (Psalm 139:14) There are a ton of handprint gift ideas for close friends & relatives: mugs, towels, tshirts, etc. Check out the middle of this Home School newsletter for Handmade Handprint Gift ideas. Mommy thought this calendar idea was pretty cool - where handprints made a picture for each month, like snowflakes in January. Combine printed backdrops with the handprints, scan them in, and you could make a very attractive calendar.

UPDATE: I just saw this idea with photos at Keepsake Handprint Calendars - gorgeous!

9. Body Scrub. (Genesis 18:4 for a foot scrub) I love pouring and mixing stuff, so this candy cane body scrub would be fun to make.

10. Hot Cocoa. (Psalm 46:10) Speaking of pouring stuff, this hot cocoa in a jar is something we REALLY wanted to make last Christmas when we were overloaded with baby food jars. But we couldn't find ANY candy canes in Mozambique or South Africa - can you believe it?! I'm sure there are some, but for outrageous prices in stores we couldn't afford.

11. Soup Mix and other Jar Gifts. There are all kinds of fun gifts in a jar that I'd love to make. Especially the colorful ones, like the Soup Mix in this 34 Holiday Ideas for Gifts in a Jar eBook. Or this Holiday Cookies in a Jar recipe. We've got all the ingredients ready to go. But we might package it in bags instead of jars to cut down on costs...

If you want something REALLY easy, check this Devil's Food cookie mix in a jar out. I don't think you get easier than this...

12. Baking and Candy. Now, I'm game for making all kinds of candy and cookies and other edible gifts! Here's some fun sea glass candy. And some chocolate covered pretzels we'll be making this week.

13. Holiday Clothes Pins. Aren't these holiday clothes pins at Blue Cricket Design gorgeous?! I'm an expert at decorating clothes pins, so these are right up my alley. And after seeing these, Mommy wants to start collecting buttons for next year.

If you're looking for other ways to share generosity, check out this Teaching Generosity post at ABC and 123. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get back to work!

And that's my school for the week...

Mission Sunday

In the midst of the busyness surrounding us, here are a few things to ponder...

1. A post on the spirit of Christmas and how seeing extreme poverty changes us at Moms, Ministry, and More.
2. Also at Moms, Ministry, and More: a devotional book by missionaries, with sales that benefit missionaries...
   
3. The birth of a new ministry to combat malnutrition at Be "The Hands and Feet".
   
4. A fun advent calendar for kids that is outward focused at Kids' Corner.
5. A Carols of Christmas study over at Women of the Harvest.
6. And my favorite link this week is I'm Dreamin' of a .....Oh, Wait.... by Octamom - a great reminder to leave behind our perfectionism and soak in blessings of the season.
   

Fashion Friday

Welcome to the latest and greatest in kid fashion! If you've got some great fashion going on in your house, go post your fashion photos of the week, come back and link up, and then grab your sparking grape juice on ice, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

In the last few weeks we've had the opportunity to go through the fashion picks of the two-year-old greats of the past (namely, eight older cousins) and create our own spectacular combinations.

We've also got a little Christmas special going on. We'll elaborate on it more next week, since we've got EIGHT holiday dresses our size sitting in our closet right now. Is that one for each cousin?

Here's our first creative combination. Red print pants with a black football sweatshirt on top, layered with a red polka-dotted "hot dog" smock and a brightly multi-colored car sweater. And the buttons on the sweater? All different colors. VERY COOL.

If you'd like a more feminine look, try blue tights with a purple flared top, covered up completely with a too-big Barbie dress and a little pink tutu, and topped with a flowery hat!

Moving on to holiday themes... This Christmasy velvet pantsuit is perfect for lounging around on the floor.
And you've seen this dress before, but we need to show you the accessories. First, the "Mary" theme and headdress works well for the season.

Now let's talk shoes... Yellow glittery ones work...

...but the ones that match perfectly are these green flip flops! They are GREEN! Just like the dress!

And that handbag is pretty cool, huh? So we put on a matching bow. Because red hairbows go with ANYTHING.
OK, folks, here's where you get to share the catwalk! Link up your favorite fashion shot(s) of the week...

Aloha Friday: Toddler Self-Entertainment

I was asked a question last week that I wish I had a great answer to myself. So maybe it's not an easy question, but I did want to pose it and glean from your collective wisdom.

When you have a newborn, you pretty much expect her to occupy ALL your time. But by the time she reaches two or three, you are kind of behind on everything else in life (or you have another newborn who is setting a different schedule). And you're wanting that 2- or 3-year-old to self-entertain a little bit, right? But it seems that she is always wanting to "help" you, wanting you to play with her, or wanting to watch a DVD (or TV), or if all else fails, acting up for attention.

So the question: Short of planting your toddler in front of the TV, what tips to you have on helping a toddler find things to do on his own so you can get other things accomplished?

My personal goal is to limit Esmé to two DVDs per day. I try to save those for critical times, like when I shower. Some days we succeed; some days aren't so successful.

Here are a few of the things that have helped me:

• Mixing things up. Put out a handful of books on the living room table, and then rotate the books around. If she sees the same books every day or just sees a huge shelf-ful of books, she's not as interested as seeing a few "new" ones on the table each day.
• Mixing toys up, too - like having a bucket for blocks, but changing out the type of blocks once a week or month, etc.
• And mixing up art supplies - This might be as simple as having several types of markers in different jars, and just swapping out the type of marker every couple of days. The other thing I try to remember is putting out fresh paper to draw on, or a small container of stickers, etc. She likes using her easel, but if I leave an old drawing up there, she doesn't go back to it, so I have to remember to rip off the drawings once she's done them.
• Do the swapping out of things during naptime or before wake-up time. For one thing - if I do it while Esme is awake, she'll get upset when I put something away that she absolutely needs right THEN. And the other thing - if there is something new out when she wakes up that catches her attention, she's more likely to let me finish whatever I was trying to get done while she was sleeping.
• Play audio books, children's music, or musicals.
  
• Don't stress over mess. This gives her a lot more options for self play - like playing in the kitchen sink, which keeps her busy for hours sometimes. Or mixing up different colors of play dough. Or trying on different clothes and dumping them on the floor...
• Let her "work" with me; help me cook, sweep, mop, dust, etc. This only goes so far, though - honestly, the only way I have patience with this is if I view it as a learning moment and not as a time to get things done.
• Put the two-or-more-player games on a higher shelf, so they are not so accessible. The shelves at her level have puzzles or activities she can work on by herself.
• Put the DVDs in a closet that she can't open! It was amazing what a difference that made when I first did it. They start piling up by the DVD player again quickly, though, so I have to keep doing that. If they are not visible, she doesn't ask for them as much.

Looking forward to some new ideas!

Wordless Wednesday - Grandparents

My grandpa and grandma visited me! I played duets with Grandma. We went for walks and went shopping and played hide-and-seek, and drank lots of fresh grape juice - I'm still asking for more... And I got presents, too! Yep, they are on my thankful list.---------------

For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit

• 5 Minutes for Mom
• Crazyland
• Experimental Mommy
  
• Extraordinary Mothers
• From Val's Kitchen
• Go Graham Go!
• Here and There
• Momspective
• Mom Knows It All
  
• Look What Mom Found
• The OmniCouple
  
• What's That Smell?
  
• Wordless Wednesday
• 7 Clown Circus - Wordful Wednesday