Fun, Easy Watermelon Art Project For Kids! - Step-By-Step [DIY, KIDS ART]

This is a fun, easy art project to do with your kids. It promotes motor skills— cutting with scissors and gluing— and design skills— putting the pieces together.

Just grab some construction paper and draw out the shapes for your little ones. If they're a little older, just show them a picture of what the end product looks like and they can draw out their own pieces. xo

Materials:

• Construction Paper - red, green, black
• Kid Scissors
• Pencil - for drawing out the shapes
• Glue

Dollar Tree Haul! - Kids Stuff [VIDEO]

Picked up a few things the other day at the Dollar Tree and thought I'd share :> When it comes to looking for affordable, educational items/activities for your kids, the dollar store is a great place to find things.

If there isn't a dedicated dollar store near you, you can always check out places like Target and Walmart, too, which now have dollar sections as well.

If you're a bargain hunter like I am, curious to know what dollar-deal gems you found lately. Leave them in the comments below and I'll try to look for them next time I'm out on the hunt :> xo

Pregnancy Update - 34-35 Weeks! [VIDEO]

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Nui Nui started her new school, had her first dentist appointment, and continues nighttime potty training.

As for me, I finished the last of my 'manual labor' baby-prep tasks, though still have more setting up to do.

In my 34-week OB checkup, I got a little educational session, as I asked my OB about a bunch of labor and delivery questions, so if you're expecting, hopefully it might be helpful information for you, too :>

In my 35-week OB checkup, I didn't gain any weight from the previous week and I talk a little bit about that.

I'm officially LESS THAN 4 weeks away from my due date! It's been quite a journey and I look forward to keeping you updated. Thanks to all of you who have supported me along the way! This is the #dream. :> xo

Teaching My Kid About The Supreme Court's Decision To Legalize Gay Marriage

It's been a particularly challenging couple of weeks, dealing with both intolerant and unfair folks, but woke up to the victorious news that gay marriage has been legalized in all 50 states. Finally. Something to be happy about.

I wanted to share this exciting news and educate my 3-year-old on what this means for her and generations of today. I started with a rainbow, which she was more than excited to draw. (See below :>)

I explained marriage to her as two people wanting to be together because they love each other so much and because they want to be a team. (We talk about teams a lot and family, in particular, acting together as a team.) That marriage is usually between a boy and a girl but sometimes a girl wants to marry a girl, and a boy wants to marry a boy. Then, she wanted to read her Big Hero 6 book. So, we took a break from the topic.

Later in the day, I brought up the subject again, telling her today is a day to celebrate because anyone can marry whoever they want, whoever they love, boy or girl. A boy can marry a girl, a boy can marry a boy, and a girl can marry a girl.

She responded: 'I want to marry a boy! I want to marry Harper because I love Harper. Then we can live together and be a team.'

This is just the beginning. My daughter now knows she can marry whoever she wants, no matter what gender. And the fact that she now has a choice will continue to be celebrated.

It's never too early to start teaching our kids, our future, about acceptance, tolerance, equality, and any other topic that will instill values in them to make this world a better place. I'm a firm believer of that. xo #piecesofm

First Day Back At School In The New Year!

Nui Nui was so excited to go back to school and, honestly, I don't blame her. I/we were homebound for much of my sick holiday existence but she's a real trooper, really loving, caring, and patient. I'm lucky, I know. 'Jewel' is what we refer to her as.

Here's what her teachers had to report:

Happy Monday, Welcome back, and Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a nice relaxing break! We settled back in with our normal routine. This week we will be talking about winter. For circle time today we went around and talked about what everyone did over the break. Responses will be at the end. It sounds like everyone had a nice time. We also read the book "A snowman named just Bob." We talked about friendship and how it's been cold lately. We also talked about how snow melts just like ice. We played a game and built snowman or snow girls. We turned two of our friends into snow girls while our other friends helped build them :) it was so fun! For art we practiced using scissors, and we made snow flakes. Our yoga move was "the cobra" and we practiced counting to 50. We enjoyed a variety of different activities both indoors and outdoors including Legos, magnetic blocks, and cars. It is getting colder so please make sure your child has appropriate clothing and a jacket to keep them warm! Share day this week is simple, to bring something that you use in the winter. We are so glad to have everyone back!

Here's what Nui Nui said about her holiday: 'I took the Christmas tree off.'

I asked her what she meant by that. What she was trying to say is that it's time to take the decorations off the tree (although I secretly want to keep it up until the weather gets warmer and the days longer :>). I just think the xmas lights bring some warmth and magic inside.

You know, every time we come in when it's dark, Nui Nui gets excited and without fail tells me to close my eyes. By hand, she then leads me to the tree. We jump and shout 'I love it!' after I open my eyes. Really, when do you get to do that?? I'm really bummed I missed the holidays... xo

Farmers' Market Discovery Walk!

Nui Nui was just learning about fruits and vegetables the week before going to this farmer's market. Her teacher said she could identify all the fruits and vegetables they covered that week with one exception: eggplant. Well, she found the eggplant that day. 'It's purple!'.

When I taught nutrition to kids, I never imagined what it'd be like to teach a kid of my own. It's an amazing feeling— all my own.

School Update: GERMS! - November 10, 2014

Nui Nui's teacher said she did really well today. Most notably, they started a class sticker bow chart for collective good behavior and a prize at the end of the week. Nui Nui was on patrol— helping and directing to clean up when it was time. She really wanted to earn that bow :>



Below are what her teachers wrote:
This week we are learning ALL about germs (and the word hygiene)... How they spread, how to stop them, and how to use good hygiene to stop them! For circle today we read "Llama, Llama, home with momma". We talked about how Llama's mom got sick because Llama didn't cover his cough or sneeze! We also talked about how resting at home is the most important thing when you are sick so you can get better faster! After we then did an activity to show how quickly germs can spread if we don't use good hygiene (ways to stop germs!), like covering our cough or sneeze with an elbow or tissue! Using a spray bottle of water teacher Lizzie "sneezed" on a friend's hand and got "germs" (we used black glitter for the germs) on my friend's hand. We then took turns shaking hands after "sneezing" into our hands (spray bottle) and noticed how at the end the WHOLE class had germs!!!! (Black glitter) oh no! this is why it's SO important to cover your cough and sneezes with your elbow or tissue and not your hand (or worse nothing at all!!) we then shared ways we use to stop germs!

How we stop germs in b3... :)
"Cover our mouths and get a tissue"
"Wash our hands with soap"
"Take a bath"
"Wash our dirty clothes"
"If we touch something yucky wash it off"
"Eat veggies"
"Drink from your own water bottle not a friends"

we then went to centers and art! For art we did "find the germs". Germs are everywhere even though we can't see them - that's why we must always use good hygiene to stop them!! Using a white crayon on white paper T Lizzie drew germs for us to find with "soap!" (Aka watercolor paints!) We also enjoyed math pegs, penguins, magnet blocks, trains for centers and outdoor free play :)

PS Did you notice our new reward system? It's on the wall next to the ABCs! each day we have the chance to earn a "dog bone" for 4 different things! 1)Nice behavior at circle - sitting nice and quiet hands, 2)walking feet to and from the classroom and inside the classroom, 3)cleaning up, and 4)nice behavior at lunch - please and thank you and quiet hands! Once we earn so many dog bones in a week (this week is 15) we get a special surprise!! Some weeks we will reach our goal and sometimes we won't (and that's ok!! We can always try next week!!)

Toddler's Three-Years-Old Developmental Milestones - Pt. 1 [VIDEO]

Gear Spinner! :>

Nui Nui 'loved spinning the gears!', said her teacher :>

Sneak Peak Into Nui Nui's First Day Of School! (3 Years Old)

** Almost 3 years old... Three years old minus 3 weeks. :>

We were sent these pics by Nui Nui's teachers— love how her school is moving more online and giving us a rare (for working parents) glimpse of what their day looks like. Happy to see her participating and hanging with her best friend.



Here's what some of her classroom looks like:



I also instagrammed this pic at pick-up.



Teachers were happy to inform me that Nui Nui's fine motor skills are good (as was I to hear it). Actually, I was surprised to hear it since she still doesn't know how to hold a pencil.

Nui Nui was very happy at pick-up and I was also glad to hear that she transitioned without a glitch into her new classroom with new teachers. Old friends help :>

School Art Projects! - VLOGUST 21, 2014 [VIDEO]

This is how we spent part of my comp day together. We had a lot of fun filming and just hanging out, the two of us :>

What fun things have you accomplished this past year? Share in the Comments below, we'd love to hear! :> xoxo

School Update: Reading, Drawing, Hugging Friends! - July 21, 2014

Back-tracking a little. I saved these gems on my desktop and meant to post these. Well... the last one I already did :>

I Tell My Daughter She's Beautiful And I Don't Regret It

Huffington Post published an article on How To Talk To Your Daughter About Her Body. It was obvious and I was prepared for what I was about to read: a self-righteous talk (or lecture) about how body image doesn't matter and we shouldn't let on that it might (or does), and how there's more to just one's outer beauty, that inner beauty is the only thing that really matters. I've read articles like this before and, as anticipated, the article nailed it.

Only thing is, I kind of disagree with most of what was said.

'Teach her about kindness towards others, but also kindness towards yourself... Tell your daughter that with her legs she can run a marathon if she wants to... She can scream and she can sing and she can lift up the world, if she wants.'

That's about as much as I took from the piece. The others? I'm not so sure.

'Don't talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works. Don't say anything if she's lost weight. Don't say anything if she's gained weight. If you think your daughter's body looks amazing, don't say that. Here are some things you can say instead... Better yet, compliment her on something that has nothing to do with her body.'

Because I've read articles like this before, I used to be self-conscious and careful about making comments to my daughter about her physical attributes. But I think the girl is beautiful and can't help but tell her sometimes. And I'm not sorry I do. (Post continues below photo.)



There are flaws with avoiding any discussion of body image. By purposely not talking about body image, we deprive our girls from learning how to deal with it, perhaps, in a constructive manner. Instead, they are left on their own accord with messages (lessons) from the media and others around them to form their ideas.

'Maybe you and your daughter both have thick thighs or wide ribcages. It's easy to hate these non-size zero body parts.'

Why is it easy? Because comments like these make it so. Case and point.

Don't you dare talk about how much you hate your body in front of your daughter, or talk about your new diet. In fact, don't go on a diet in front of your daughter. Buy healthy food. Cook healthy meals. But don't say, "I'm not eating carbs right now." Your daughter should never think that carbs are evil, because shame over what you eat only leads to shame about yourself.

Agree— 'your daughter should never think that carbs are evil'... BUT the reason is because you have taught her what they are, why people think so, and why our bodies need them to function properly, such that 'evil' and 'shame' are so far removed from her association to carbs.

Don't go on a diet? Maybe. If it's a crash, extremist, or uninformed one, yes. But maybe you really do need to go on a diet— change your diet, that is, with the understanding that it's for life and you're not doing it for superficial reasons but to try to maintain the best (mental, physical, emotional) health as you can, be able to actively do things together, and be a part of their lives for as you long as you can. In that case, maybe you can actually be a role model by going on a diet in front of your daughter because you are showing her how much you value both yourself and her.

'Teach your daughter how to cook kale. Teach your daughter how to bake chocolate cake made with six sticks of butter.'

These were interesting items to mention and it's extremist notions like these that make our girls go to extreme. Teach her how to cook. Period. Teach her how to enjoy both 'healthy' and 'not-so-healthy' foods. Period. Teach her about everything in moderation. Period. Teach her how to recognize and deal with her emotions without involving food. Period. Kale and 6 sticks of butter? Not so necessary.

'Prove to your daughter that women don't need men to move their furniture.'

Why? Why do women have to prove they can lift heavy objects? There's nothing wrong or bad about asking for help or teaching our girls how to. I can't move a lot of furniture, or, I chose not to, to prevent the risk of hurting myself. That has nothing to do with body image. If anything, it shows a certain amount of self-awareness and humbleness to be able to ask for help. That's not to say women should default their thinking that men dominate in all categories but that they don't 'have to get a hernia to prove [they] need a man's help', as quoted from one commenter.

As I've mentioned, I've read many articles like these, always hoping for something different, honestly, perhaps hoping to find the 'answer'. But fact of the matter is, is that there is NO answer, no solution, no 'perfect' way to raise our girls to become women with a healthy body image and no behavior of disordered eating. Moreover, bad body image nor eating disorders don't just stem from comments about body image or food or one's ability to lift heavy objects.

Eating disorders was tagged not just once but twice for this post. If this article is really directed at or about eating disorders, then Sarah (the author) missed out on much of the discussion to help educate others on things they can do that might actually help prevent the deadly disease.

It's idealistic to think body image doesn't matter. Those who do, don't look in the mirror, don't wear makeup, and don't conform to dress code. We live in a society and culture where it does. Rather than ignore it or pretend it doesn't exist, we should be teaching and raising our girls to know how to deal with the irrational thoughts, impossible ideals, and unhealthy behaviors they are exposed to on a repeated daily basis.

I tell my daughter she's beautiful and I don't regret it. But there are about a million other things I also do to praise her, encourage her, help her, teach her, be open with her, show her her value, show her that I love her, that she's worth it, and that she's not alone.

My daughter isn't even three years old and I'm not saying I have the solution on how to raise girls or be an awesome mom, but, to be clear, if you're going to talk 'eating disorders', 'relationships', and 'body issues', IT'S NOT ABOUT THE FOOD, it's not just about body image, silence is not the answer, and it's more complicated than you might think.

How To Apologize, When To Forgive [HEALTHYBUTJUICY]

Republished from HealthyButJuicy.com.



I wanted to post this photo and give it a beautiful caption, like 'Blissful way to end the long weekend'. And it was, but that's only half the truth.

The real truth is that, yes, this was what the end of what our long weekend looked like— settled, calm, happy, loving, and together in a booth at a somewhat fancy, somewhat pricey (for us) restaurant— but it took a storm to get here.

My daughter is 2 years old, nearing three. Her 'terrible twos' days are numbered— I know, I've heard, three's are actually worse but I am in complete denial about it. I have to give her credit, though, because with me she's only had maybe one... ok, two, major public tantrums.

The first was in Trader Joes. She needed to go to the bathroom (bad) but we didn't have her toilet seat and she went hysterical, too afraid to use the 'big' toilet as is. She ended up peeing in her pants, which made the hysteria that much more amplified.

The second time was in the car at her school's parking lot. Maybe no one saw it (I'm hoping, but I'd again be in denial to really think that). She wanted to go back into the school to wash her hands, as I had asked when we were in there, but it was late and I wanted needed to hit the road because traffic was already bad and we have a long commute home.

This most recent time (yesterday) happened in the swimming pool. We were at the pool for a good 2 hours— I was going to limit the time to less than that because I was exhausted when we did that last time but that obviously didn't work. Nearing on hour 2, another family came to swim. We had seen and played with them last time, so knew they were good company. Shortly after, two other families came. It was like a party. I had just spent 2 hours carrying her back and forth in the pool, 'swimming', and my only child all of a sudden was at a pool party with kids all somewhat around her age.

But it was really time for us to go. We stayed another half hour and then I put my foot down, or tried to at least. All I can say is that she really wasn't ready to go. She let me know that, the other families, along with the whole neighborhood.

I always worry about times like these, where I am filled with insecurity and self-doubt. Am I a bad parent? What will these people think of me? Will I be reported? Yes, it goes that far. The media has done its job well— stories have successfully been sensationalized enough times and I, as a parent, have been sufficiently provoked. Thankfully, though, I'm pretty trained in self-talk as well, and can rationalize with myself that, that's ridiculous and I'm having idiotic thoughts.

When we got home and things settled down, was the time I took to talk to her, recap what happened, and teach her how to apologize for her actions. Previously, my method was three-pronged but, in between this latest hysteria and calm, I've made it four-. This is NOT something you should necessarily do with your child(ren) but this is what I did and will keep doing until I refine my parenting to do something else, hopefully better (more effective)?

First, I let her know she needs to apologize. Kids quickly learn and know when they've done something wrong, and when they need to do (or not do) something. As parents, we need to help them formally recognize these things by telling them direct. Their recognition skills are still underdeveloped. It's just like taking a shower. They know they need to do it but, still, they continuously need to be told for quite some time before they learn to actually do it themselves.

So she says sorry. But is sorry enough? That's a rhetorical question. I asked her why she was sorry. This is really important because just saying sorry is a cop-out— just saying sorry doesn't require her to think or reflect on anything. Asking why makes her think and learn to recognize the actual actions/behavior that warrants an apology. Hopefully, doing this enough times will sink in and she will be able to recognize the consequences of her behavior before she actually does anything.

Typically, then, after she says sorry and 'what for', I ask her if she's going to do it again, and if what she did is being good or naughty (translated from a different language). I do this sort of to summarize and drive home the message without dragging things on.

This time, however, I realized it would be good to add just one more piece to the apology: I asked her what can she do different for next time. I realized this was important because (clearly) she didn't know how to respond to something against her desires. In my original set of questions (arguably, a 'lesson'), she can recognize what she's done but, from there, doesn't learn how she can handle similar situations going forward. She obviously doesn't always know what she can do instead, so sharing some better options with her isn't 'cheating' by giving her the answers, but it can actually help her grow her 'good behavior vocabulary', so to speak.

Finally, I forgave her. I always do, once we've reached the end of the apology. This is actually what I consider one of the most important, if not the most important, steps of this apology process. Being able to forgive someone is an invaluable lesson to learn and skill to do. We gave each other a kiss and a hug, and said I Love You. Then, we kept on dancing.

Parenting can be tiring— after 2.5 hours in the pool, I was already drained— and challenging. But it can also be one of the most rewarding and strengthening things you ever do. My kid teaches me so much and continues to make me into the best version of myself... how's that for a sappy ending after all? :> 100% truth.

Below is a recap of how we apologize and when we forgive.

• Say sorry...
• Why are you sorry...?
• Is that naughty or nice?
• Will you do that again?
• What will you do different next time?
• Forgive: Kiss. Hug. I Love You. Keep on dancing.

How do you teach your kid(s) to apologize and forgive? Share in the Comments below, we'd love to hear! :>

School Update - Springtime Beginnings - March 10-14, 2014!