Saturday, August 23, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
kidoinfo.com
New column is up on kidoinfo.com!
And here's a sneak peek of my new blog. Still a few details to work out. I'll keep posting here until everything is all set and will post a note when I make the move!
And here's a sneak peek of my new blog. Still a few details to work out. I'll keep posting here until everything is all set and will post a note when I make the move!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
feeling groovy: the power of attraction
I'm a big fan of Scott Noelle and have been subscribing to his "Daily Groove" for almost two years now.
I love starting my day with an inspiring e-mail and focus point to help me relate to my children in a positive, respectful and really groovy way.
Here's today's groove:
Today Lily will be at summer camp again (four whole days this week--she could not be happier!) so Quinn and I will be having another special Mama-Quinn day.
Yesterday we cleaned out the van (getting ready for our upcoming road trip :-) and enjoyed a nice lunch date at Panera Bread.
It was such a treat to just relax and be with Quinn all day. We didn't really have any place that we needed to be and I was content to just sit and watch him run around the same tree a dozen times and even felt inspired to join in!
Today, we do have a few errands that I would like to run (paperwork for my new job that is due today, an oil change and new tires for the freshly-cleaned van). There will still be plenty of time to run around trees (and lamp-posts and fire hydrants) and to marvel at the amazing-ness of motorcycles and construction sites and garbage trucks. But there is also a loose agenda of items that I would like to accomplish.
So today, keeping this daily groove in mind, while we're running our errands, I would like to focus on how joyful and expressive and fun two-year-olds, and especially my beloved Quinn, can be!
(I know I was supposed to only pick one trait, but as I closed my eyes and thought about what I wanted to focus on about Quinn, those three things all popped in together!)
And on that note, I hear pitter-patter feet upstairs...my joyful, expressive, fun little guy is awake!!
I love starting my day with an inspiring e-mail and focus point to help me relate to my children in a positive, respectful and really groovy way.
Here's today's groove:
THE DAILY GROOVE ~ by Scott Noelle
www.enjoyparenting.com/dailygroove
:: The Power of Attraction ::
Attraction means pulling instead of pushing. The
"pull" of attraction is not physical. You attract by
focusing your mind. Your thoughts have a sort of
"gravity" that pulls matching thoughts, conditions and
events into your awareness and experience.
Today, try this experiment...
Think of *one* characteristic that you really, really
adore and appreciate about your child. Something that
makes you smile when you think about it. Pick a
keyword or phrase to remind you of this trait, and
write it on the back of your hand. (If your child can
read, use a code word or symbol instead.)
The idea is to focus on this aspect of your child as
many times as you can today. But don't tell your child
specifically what you're doing -- the power is in what
you think, not what you say.
You might also put little reminder Post-it notes in
places like door handles, telephones, the fridge, your
car visor -- wherever you frequently look or reach.
After a full day of focusing on this aspect of your
child, review the day and note how it affected your
interactions.
Can you see how, through your intentional focus, you
*created* (attracted) that experience?
See the results of one reader's experiment:
http://dailygroove.net/power-of-attraction#comment-177
Feel free to forward this message to your friends!
(Please include this paragraph and everything above.)
Copyright (c) 2008 by Scott Noelle
Today Lily will be at summer camp again (four whole days this week--she could not be happier!) so Quinn and I will be having another special Mama-Quinn day.
Yesterday we cleaned out the van (getting ready for our upcoming road trip :-) and enjoyed a nice lunch date at Panera Bread.
It was such a treat to just relax and be with Quinn all day. We didn't really have any place that we needed to be and I was content to just sit and watch him run around the same tree a dozen times and even felt inspired to join in!
Today, we do have a few errands that I would like to run (paperwork for my new job that is due today, an oil change and new tires for the freshly-cleaned van). There will still be plenty of time to run around trees (and lamp-posts and fire hydrants) and to marvel at the amazing-ness of motorcycles and construction sites and garbage trucks. But there is also a loose agenda of items that I would like to accomplish.
So today, keeping this daily groove in mind, while we're running our errands, I would like to focus on how joyful and expressive and fun two-year-olds, and especially my beloved Quinn, can be!
(I know I was supposed to only pick one trait, but as I closed my eyes and thought about what I wanted to focus on about Quinn, those three things all popped in together!)
And on that note, I hear pitter-patter feet upstairs...my joyful, expressive, fun little guy is awake!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Our fast-growing friends!
Our visitors have grown exponentially in the last few days. Today I moved them over to a new branch of milkweed (though they seemed to be doing just find on the week-old one). While I was transferring our four caterpillars, I discovered another brand-new one (so small you can't even see its stripes yet) so we now have five friends to observe in the coming weeks!
Up 'til now, I have been, by far, the most interested in the current happenings in the Critter Corner (with John being a close second) but now that the caterpillars are big enough to hold (briefly and gently), Lily has taken much more interest!
Up 'til now, I have been, by far, the most interested in the current happenings in the Critter Corner (with John being a close second) but now that the caterpillars are big enough to hold (briefly and gently), Lily has taken much more interest!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Crunching Caterpillars!
While we were sleeping last night, our caterpillar friends were busy doing what they do best -- eating lots of Milkweed!
Here's a picture of the largest caterpillar with evidence of its nocturnal nibbling.
Here's a picture of the largest caterpillar with evidence of its nocturnal nibbling.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Monarchs!!
Our daily milkweed inspections have paid off! We have FOUR tiny Monarch caterpillars and several leaves with eggs!
Egg on the underside of a milkweed leaf (yellow dot in the center of the photo):
Tiny caterpillar on the top side of a milkweed leaf:
A temporary home for the caterpillars (a glass jar with a screen top):
And here's the new home I made tonight after John took the kids up to bed:
The supplies I used were: a yard-and-a-half of tulle, a 12" wooden embroidery hoop, and some ribbon (which was my biggest expense and totally not necessary--string would have worked fine--but the rainbow ribbon was soooo pretty! ;-) Total cost: $6.72.
I taped one edge of the tulle to the inside hoop and then wrapped around the rest of the hoop. I put the top hoop on to hold it in place and then loosened it just enough to slip the ribbon in, which I secured with a knot. No sewing involved (not that I have anything against sewing but just wanted to share how quick and EASY it was to make!). Oh and I used a playsilk that we already had to cover the top.
Easy-peasy! And now I'm off to check out monarchwatch.org to learn more about our visitors...
Egg on the underside of a milkweed leaf (yellow dot in the center of the photo):
Tiny caterpillar on the top side of a milkweed leaf:
A temporary home for the caterpillars (a glass jar with a screen top):
And here's the new home I made tonight after John took the kids up to bed:
The supplies I used were: a yard-and-a-half of tulle, a 12" wooden embroidery hoop, and some ribbon (which was my biggest expense and totally not necessary--string would have worked fine--but the rainbow ribbon was soooo pretty! ;-) Total cost: $6.72.
I taped one edge of the tulle to the inside hoop and then wrapped around the rest of the hoop. I put the top hoop on to hold it in place and then loosened it just enough to slip the ribbon in, which I secured with a knot. No sewing involved (not that I have anything against sewing but just wanted to share how quick and EASY it was to make!). Oh and I used a playsilk that we already had to cover the top.
Easy-peasy! And now I'm off to check out monarchwatch.org to learn more about our visitors...
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