So if I told any of you this blog address...
It has actual changed to......
busybliss.blogspot.com
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!
Check out the "Ideas for Mom" and "Ideas for Wife" tabs since all these postings below are organized there.
The Best Thing You Can Do to Create FAMILY UNITY
We had just a few days to take off and put on an entire new roof, move all the
furniture, and install new tiling and carpet through the house – and the
Nelsons had no idea all of this was happening… only that a couple people would be working on the roof. Quickly realizing we
couldn’t possibly do this on our own, Steve began to ask for help. It was so inspiring to see extended
family members leave their current vacations and busy schedules to help their family who they greatly loved! Word
spread and everyone was eager to get involved. As I pulled up just hours before the Nelsons arrived, I
watched neighbors flooding from their houses as we all joined to work
and serve together. There was a
spirit of excitement and great unity as we all hurried to get the house ready!!
This is an experience that I will never, ever forget! Having five older brothers and the
youngest brother being six years older than me, I always greatly admired my
amazing brothers but saw them more as heroes than close friends. We were never in the same stages
growing up and I always longed to get to know them better. Through all our late night laughing and
daily working hard together this past weekend, I grew so close to my brother, and I
learned an important lesson:
WORKING TOGETHER DOING HARD THINGS
and
MEANINGFULLY SERVING OTHERS TOGETHER
will bind your family to be closer to each other and closer to Christ more
than almost any other activity.
Wow, I sure learned the power of WORK and SERVICE and will strive to
make these things apart of our little growing family! These two principles also help combat against selfishness and the sense of entitlement which plague our society. These words, put into action, fill our lives with the Spirit of Christ and refine us into better people and stronger families!
Fun Activities for Baby
Click Here to check out BabyCenter's weekly activities for your baby's first year!
Click Here to see 20 fun, silly, development-boosting games to play with your baby!
Click Here to see 20 fun, silly, development-boosting games to play with your baby!
Play Dough, Slime, & Puffy Paint Recipes
2 cups of plain flour
2 cups of coloured water
1 Tbsp. of cooking oil
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup of salt
Place all of the ingredients in a medium size or large pan. Cook slowly on medium-high and stir it until the playdough thickens. Keeps best in the fridge in plastic containers.
Glue
Borax
Food coloring
Water
Mix together ¾ c. warm water, 1 c. glue and several drops of food coloring in the first bowl. In the second bow., mix together 4 t. borax and 1 1/3 c. warm water. Pour the contents of the first bowl into the second, but don’t stir. Let it sit for 1 minute, then lift the now-congealed slime out of the bowl. To minimize accidents (can stick to certain fabrics), give each little monster a zip-loc bag to store it in. If slime is too sticky, add a little more borax. If slime is too slippery, add a little more white glue solution.
Slime #2
1 c. water
½ c. cornstarch
Food coloring
Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add cornstarch, then food coloring
while stirring constantly. Remove
from heat and cool to room temp.
This makes a messy slime that goes from liquid to solid, and is great
fun to play with.
Puffy Paint 1 tablespoon self-raising flour
a few little drops of food colouring
1 tablespoon salt
Then add some water to make a nice smooth paste.
Paint away on a nice thick sheet of cardboard (use paint brushes or cottonballs). Microwave the design on high for 15 - 30 seconds until the paint puffs and it's all nice and dry.
2/3 cup each of water, flour, and salt
Washable tempera paints
Squeeze bottles (at Michael's for $2 per 2-pack)
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the water, flour, and salt (the dough will be just barely pourable). Divide the dough between two bowls and stir a few drops of washable tempera paint into each. Pour the dough into squeeze bottles. Protect your work surface, then have your artist create colorful designs on thick construction paper or card stock. Leave them flat to dry (drying times will vary depending on the dough's thickness).
Age-Appropiate Toys
AGE-APPROPRIATE TOYS
info
from babycenter.com
Birth-3 months
In her first months, before she learns to grasp objects or sit up, your baby will most appreciate things she can look at and
listen to. Her vision will be fuzzy at first and she'll fix on things that are
about eight to 14 inches from her eyes. She's drawn to the human face — and can
recognize yours at about 1 month — but she will also enjoy large pictures of
faces. High-contrast patterns and bright colors captivate her because they're
the easiest for her to see. She's already learned to appreciate sounds and soft
music. Objects that move slowly and produce a gentle sound are far more
interesting to her than those that are fixed and silent.
Examples: music, unbreakable mirror, soft books with
east-to-see patterns, rattles attached to wrist or ankle, soft toys that make
noise when pressed, mobile, YOU!
3-6 months
As he enters this stage, a baby discovers how much fun his
own hands can be now that they're no longer clenched in a fist. He can suck his
fingers, and use them to grasp a toy that has been placed in his hands. He has begun to reach for toys. He
soon learns to pass a toy back and forth between his hands and rotate his wrist
to inspect it from all sides, usually before popping it into his mouth. Make
sure that all toys are safe for chewing! And never attach a toy to a crib or
playpen with elastic/string, which could end up strangling or entrapping your
baby. By 6 months your baby can probably sit up, giving him a new perspective on life and making him the
center of his own clanging, colorful, ever-changing world.
Examples: activity center with dangling toys (you can
also get some that hang across car seats/strollers), lightweight rattles (they
love to make noise), soft stuffed animals (many babies start forming an
attachment), squeaky rubber toys, board books, colorful teething rings,
6-9 months
Your baby's play is becoming much more vigorous. When she
picks up a spoon now she bangs it against pots and pans, and she furiously
rattles the bunch of keys she finds. She can now grab two toys at once and slam
them together. But her movements are also becoming more precise; thanks to her growing dexterity, she can pick a raisin off the floor. She is becoming aware that objects
still exist even when she can no longer see or feel them. This means she'll
miss a favorite stuffed animal if she can't see it, and try to search for it.
It also means you can begin playing hide-and-seek games with objects. Hide her
teddy bear while she's looking, and she'll find it right away — and be very
proud she did. This is the age at which most babies go mobile. From sitting,
it's a short developmental step to scooting around on her stomach, to rocking
back and forth on her hands and knees, and then to crawling.
By the time she's 8 months old she may be pulling herself up to a standing
position and climbing your stairs. The following toys can help her explore her
quickly developing senses.
Examples: lightweight balls (especially fabric ones),
household items (like measuring cups/wooden spoons, Tupperware/etc), wood or
soft blocks (stacking, filling a box, dumping are favorite activities), moving
toys (sturdy cars to push around, toys that pop up when pushed), board books,
toys which help her have fun practicing coordination –
poking/twisting/squeezing/shaking/dropping/and opening things will fascinate
her
9-12 months
By the time babies are 9 or 10 months old, they're usually
able make their way around the room in some fashion — creeping, crawling, cruising (walking with the furniture's assistance). By 12 months, many babies
have risen to their feet and can stand and even walk. Your baby has started using objects as tools, pushing a ball with a
stick or chasing the food around his plate with a spoon. He's also more
interested in interactive games. Tickle him and let him tickle you back. Talk
on the phone and then pass it off to him so he can babble, then hand it back to
you for another round. His problem-solving skills are improving and now he'll
take the lid off a clear container to get the toy he sees inside rather than
trying to reach through it. And he's beginning to understand words and
recognize the names of familiar objects. On all fours or on two feet, giddy
with the freedom of movement and mobility, a baby at this age will want move,
grab, and get to whatever used to be out of reach.
Examples: pail and shovel (love filing and dumping),
blocks, books (especially ones which have flaps to open/textures to feel), toy
telephone (love to imitate parents), balls, shape sorters, safe push toys
12-18 months
Your toddler is really taking off these days — and as you
chase her little body down the street, you may miss the days before she learned
to use her legs so well. "Active" is an apt way to describe her now,
and she likes any toy or game that allows her to throw her whole self into it —
balls, swings, and tiny climbing sets, to name a few. Her hands are becoming more coordinated, too, and she can now use toy
sorters more efficiently, build even greater block towers, and scribble a drawing. Her play involves lots of experimentation, like "What
happens if I drop this ball?" or "What happens if pull this
lever?" She's very interested in the consequences of her actions, and
because her memory isn't well developed she won't tire of repetition. Toddlers
also like to try out what they see adults doing, so look for toys that imitate
daily life.
Examples: scribbling with washable crayons on paper
(by 16 months they mastered scribbling; try introducing it around 12 or 13
months), large cardboard building
bricks, heavily weighted push toys, toddlers love to sort/
stack/unsort/unstuck/and basically reorganize their lives, climbing, sliding,
balls (this is the age when they can start practicing throwing/catching back
and forth), ride-on toys like cars or little bikes, tool bench or toy kitchen
to imitate adults, books (especially advanced picture books showing familiar
objects/activities)
18-24 months
Your toddler is becoming more excited about independence but
is constantly being reminded of her own limits. So while she insists on doing
something "Myself!" one moment, the next might find her turning to
you for help.
The way she learns what she can do is by getting her hands into everything. She fiddles with knobs, opens and shuts doors, flips light switches on and off. Toys with interlocking parts — pop-up toys, sorting toys, trucks with doors that open and shut, play kitchens with knobs and doors — can create endless opportunities for your child to explore, and push her limits. At this age, children learn best from unstructured play, so just make the toys available and off she'll go.
The way she learns what she can do is by getting her hands into everything. She fiddles with knobs, opens and shuts doors, flips light switches on and off. Toys with interlocking parts — pop-up toys, sorting toys, trucks with doors that open and shut, play kitchens with knobs and doors — can create endless opportunities for your child to explore, and push her limits. At this age, children learn best from unstructured play, so just make the toys available and off she'll go.
Examples: plastic eating/drinking/cooking toys for
pretend play, miniature brooms/shopping carts/vacuum/kitchen, large and small
blocks, toy instruments, train sets, puzzles
24-30 months
Your child is now 2, and has become even more assertive. But
his defiance really results from the tug-of-war between his desire for
independence and his continuing need for help. What he's doing — again and
again — is testing his limits. Along with independence come expanded language
skills. He can now speak in short sentences and has become more purposeful,
telling you what he needs or wants. He is also beginning to understand abstract
concepts. He can ask for more milk, and inquire about whether he can go to bed
later. But he still doesn't understand what next month or next year means. He
can form images in his mind, and organize his toys by size, or color, or shape.
His memory is improving and he may be able to tell you at the end of the day what
he had for lunch. A minority of 2-year-olds also know their colors and letters,
and can count to 10. Toddlers are spirited folk, so look for toys and
activities that give yours a way to channel his energy. Also look for toys that
challenge his developing mind.
Examples: art supplies (inspire creativity), still
loves balls/wheeled toys, now music inspires dancing/clapping/hopping/even
shouting, try giving them percussive instruments to play the beat and
experiment with different genres, dress-up clothes (pretend play takes off
now), child-size household equipment, construction toys like giant Lego blocks,
puzzles, other manipulatives like dolls to dress up (your child's new dexterity
has opened up many new play possibilities)
30-36 months
By the time your child reaches his third birthday, he'll be
ready for more challenging toys. After all, if he can put on his own T-shirt,
wash and dry his own hands, and brush his own teeth,
he can certainly manage blocks and even simple memory or board games. Most 3-year-olds
can also draw a vertical line, which means now's the perfect time to open a
display gallery on the refrigerator. At this age your child is a
confident walker, runner, and jumper, and is likely able to balance on one foot
for a second or more. That means it's time to let him play with scaled-down
sports equipment. He may want to include other children in his games, and he'll
really begin to notice and focus on other kids, which allows him to play more
structured games. As he gets older, your toddler will become increasingly
imaginative. He's no longer concerned just with his physical effect on the
world and will start developing his own story lines, characters, plots, and
adventures. Giving him clothes and props for pretend play — something as simple
as a cardboard box can be a wagon, a spaceship, a fort, and so on — will help
encourage this area of his development.
Examples: beginning board and memory games, puzzles,
kid-sized pots/dishes/pans, construction sets and especially blocks that lock
together like Lego blocks, art kit (Kids this age like crayons, watercolors,
clay, collage basics like magazines and newspapers, construction paper, and
tempera and finger paints. Just make sure everything is washable and
nontoxic.), outdoor equipment (he’ll love toys that let him test his newfound
physical abilities so swings/plastic balls and bats/miniature basketballs and
hoops/soft soccer balls/play golf sets), books (his language skills and vocab
are getting more sophisticated and he’s starting to follow narratives and
understand more complicated words and stories)
Exits & Entrances
Frank's professor explained how whenever he would step through the door, their family dog would go crazy - running around in circles, barking loudly, jumping up and down - that dog was so eager and excited for him to come home! In this professor's marriage they now have a joke about trying to "Beat the Dog," meaning they try to show even more excitement than the dog about each other's arrivals.
Some days I am watching the clock and so ready for Steve to come home and rescue me! I often want to shove our cute kids into his arms and then fall down right there and crash on the ground. But, we also want our husbands to be excited to come home and WE BOTH need a break!!
Focus for a week on becoming aware of what you do and say when your spouse is coming and going and try to do some special things for these important cross roads. Here are some ideas:
- Give your spouse a hug and kiss as they walk out the door
- Put on some make-up and quickly fix your hair right before they get home
- Have a special treat or even sparkling apple cider for when he comes home one day
- When you meet up with your spouse after a long day, first encourage them to go for a run or do something that they personally enjoy to unwind! I think you'll find that they will also want to later do the same for you.
- Imagine what your spouse's day must have been like and express appreciation for all they did
- Really any marriage ritual done continually, like praying each night together, forms commitment and provides identity to your marriage and relationship. It shows the fruits of you placing your marriage relationship as highest priority.
What are some things you do for your exits & entrances? I'd love to add your ideas to the list!
FHE Ideas
We haven't always done Family Home Evening in the past since Brayden seemed really young, but I am so glad that we now have this tradition once a week. These
short yet fun moments we have together really do help us teach the gospel and have fun as a family. Something fun we have been doing lately is letting Brayer "lead" the song with a dry spaghetti stick!
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- keep it super simple/short,
- make it tons of FUN,
- and always have a little treat.
Resources you can use for little children:
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| Pictures are always great to get little kids' attention. |
 Since children learn best through repetition, we often review the lesson they learned in nursery. |
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| Find out what lesson your primary children are on, and talk about it the sunday prior to the lesson so they get more out of class. |
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| The Sharing Time manual has lessons for each week of the year which are pretty simple and full of great ideas to relate it to young kids. Ask your primary president for a copy or look at it online. |
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| The current friend can also be an easy reference for a lesson topic. |
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| Click here to check out the lds.org webpage on FHE ideas |
Some FHE lessons we have done :
- God answers Nephi's prayer: show picture of Nephi building a boat. Make boats out of tin foil and float in sink!
- Noah's Ark, Follow the Prophet: show picture of all the animals on Noah's boat. Put all stuffed animals in a box for the pretend "boat." You could even play rain noises! Since Follow the Prophet and march around the room.
- I will be a Missionary someday: I had my son put on the "Elder" tag I quickly made and his tie while holding his scriptures. We looked at pictures from Daddy's mission and talked about teaching people about "JeJe" and baptizing them in the "wawa." Then we had the missionaries over for dinner that weekend. Brayden wanted to wear his tie and tag again :).
- Tithing: Have your kids earn 10 pennies somehow, help them fill out a tithing slip and give their penny to the Bishop the following Sunday.
- Brass Plates: I made our own brass plates by spray painting cardboard pieces gold and binding them with two rings. Hide the "plates" and have them look for them just like Nephi. Talk about how they too can "Go and Do" like Nephi... like go and do what Mommy says :). My sister-in-law Brittany even made her boy an aluminum foil shield and sword!
- King Benjamin Tent: We put up our little tent and talked about how people stayed in their tents while listening to the prophet King Benjamin teach about serving others. We made our own smores in the oven! Brayden also likes to do this lesson where he stands on something tall for his "tower" then we build blocks to make a huge tower.
- Good Samaritan: Last night we showed a picture of the Good Samaritan and then scratched each others' backs. We could have also practiced putting bandages on each other and sharing with each other.
- Lehi's Dream: Have a string winding around leading to a "tree." Have them follow the "iron rod" and eat some fruit at the tree. Talk about how everything we do leads us to Jesus Christ.
- Premotal Life: Show a picture of our premortal life living with Heaven Father and Jesus. Do the glove activity where you talk about how we lived as spirits and then came to earth and got a body.
- The Creation: put in a bag "creation" items like leaves, branches, bag of dirt, flowers, cotton balls (clouds), flashlight (light), etc and have children pick out items one by one and talk about how Jesus made the world for us because he loves us.
- Prayer: show picture of Enos praying. Color nursery page about prayers. You could also make a bow and arrow (with cardboard, branch, string).
What do you do for FHE?
Fun Finger Plays
I have loved going to our library's music time for babies/toddlers, but I can never seem to remember how all the songs go! So I did lots of research and these are the best finger play songs I could find:
I love how Dr. Jean explains the benefits of finger plays:
- getting them ready to read
- using oral language
- auditory memory
- developing immagination
- small motor activities
- children keep asking "again, again!"
- and it is FUN!!
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