Naptime Blog

This should be an interesting summer. Our oldest son is turning 10 soon, and we are looking into local and sleep away camps (OMG). There is a huge gap between my boys in age so I want him to still feel as if there are certain things out there just for him and it’s not all about the baby.

He is pretty athletic “All” around. He likes everything, not just 1 sport but all of them. He has played a little AYSO (soccer), Babe Ruth League (baseball) & our local Parks & Rec basketball league. My husband who is a HUGE basketball fan is insisting on a basketball camp. I really don’t want to sway him in any direction. But WE all know how fathers can be when it comes to their boys and sports…

Well, I will keep researching the safest and affordable camp for our family.

~Shanta

Sometimes I sit around and have random thoughts. Here’s one: Have you ever taken a moment to think about just how all-purpose flowers are?
Here are the top 10 reasons I love flowers:

1. You don’t have to have a lot of money (or any if you have them growing in your garden or yard) to give a flower to someone that is having a bad day. Just one single, bright bloom can turn that frown into a smile and that gloomy expression into a grin.
2. Flowers are the perfect gift from a child to a mom. Mom may be covered in spit-up and so tired that she doesn’t remember her child’s name from her pet’s name. It doesn’t matter though, because a wildflower bouquet that is wilted and limp from a sweaty little palm’s grasp is more beautiful than a 10 carat diamond.
3. Is your little girl having a bad hair day or do you want to avoid a pricey hat for Easter? A simple crown made of flowers is a beautiful adornment for your little princess’s ‘do.
4. Want to keep a flower forever? Dry it and place it in a memory book next to a photo of the event where you received it (a wedding, anniversary, birthday party, etc.).
5. Use a dried flower to bookmark a favorite verse or poem.
6. Need a day off from work? If you are an allergy sufferer, take a walk in a flower garden and sniff away. 
7. Without flowers we wouldn’t have delicious honey. Mmm.
8. A bouquet of flowers makes a dreary dark hospital room look a little brighter and makes the patient feel loved.
9. Sprinkle rose petals in a warm bath to feel like you are in a luxurious spa. Be sure to close your eyes to block out the rubber duckies. It adds to the atmosphere. Trust me.
10. If you run out of reasons before number 10, ask your hubby and he’ll tell you flowers are great to spray paint black and send to your enemies. Well, I would never do such a thing! Hrmph.

What sorts of random things do you think of when you have a few minutes to let your mind wander?

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

Thank goodness my son has inherited some of my cleaning control!! Between school, looking for a job, taking care of our son, taking care of the house that seems to be always dirty (well to me, at least) and doing laundry and cleaning up after my husband, sometimes I just need a break or a little help.

The great thing about Shaughn watching my every move is that he picks up on things that I am doing and is beginning to differentiate items that are garbage and items that are not. Yes, even a 21 month old child helping me in that way means so much and does lift off a very small portion off my shoulders. He puts his go-gurt wrappers in the trash or he will take it from the table and hand it to me to toss out. He dumps out his cheerios all over the floor, looks at my reaction, and them smiles while picking them all up and putting them into the container to hand to me.

Another thing he does which is so funny to me and I didn’t even realize I was doing this; if he has a shirt, pants, or pajamas on the floor he will pick them up and sniff them and then put them in his hamper. Of course he doesn’t know what smells good or bad, nor do any of his clothes smell, but when I sort the laundry I do a smell check to make sure the shirt I pick up has been worn or not. This isn’t a stinky test, I assure you, but both Brent and I wear some type of body fragrance so it’s very easy to determine what needs to be washed.

Shaughn has picked up my little habits and I love it because he’s being such a helpful little guy. He closes all the doors, drawers, and cabinets if he sees that they’re open and looks at me with a smile. If he could only train his daddy, that would be great….

Krystal

Open up a newspaper and you’ll read about it, buy a container of milk and you’ll see it, turn on any cop drama TV series or action movie, it’s there.  And now, it happened to MY family.  I am STILL in shock.

My grandfather, newly widowed since my grandmother’s death just 8 months ago, was always an independent, strong, and smart man.  Since her death, Poppy has been slowly showing his age, as he is 85 years old.  He has been forgetful and sometimes seems a bit confused.  We truly had no idea how serious this was until last night.

Poppy went missing at about 5pm yesterday evening.  When my aunt went to check on him at 6:00, his television was on, his house seemed a bit a mess, the car was gone and Poppy wasn’t around.  By 7pm, there was still no sign of him, no one had any idea where he was, and we began to worry.

My family searched near his house, near our house (45 minutes away), circled highways and hospitals in between the two locations.  At 12:30 am, an official missing persons report was filed. 

Finally, at 2:30 am, the Sheriff visited my aunt.  Afraid of what she would learn when she answered the door, the Sheriff informed her that Poppy was found 2 ½ hours north, in Massachusetts!  He had been in an accident and was hospitalized.

Throughout the day today, my whole family is numb.  We learned more and more info as the day progressed, and as my parents and aunt and uncle drove up to Massachusetts to see him.  Poppy was in an accident (luckily no other car/pedestrian was involved).  He flipped over, got pinned inside his car, and the Jaws of Life removed him.  They airlifted Poppy to the nearest hospital, and he has 2 broken ribs, a fracture in his neck, and is being monitored for a spot on his lung.  Poppy had been recovering from pneumonia, so the doctors suggested that he stay in the hospital in Massachusetts through the weekend for further monitoring and care. 

None of us can believe that this has happened.  We will do what we have to do for Poppy, and deal with whatever dementia or Alzheimer’s he may have, but it is just numbing to think about the last 24 hours.  This could have been so much worse, we are very blessed, and I am thankful to God (and my grandmother, who I believe was with him when the car flipped over). 

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (8), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (7 months)
www.nevaland.com

I can’t believe that it’s this time of year again! Our son Jeromy who is a 4^th grade has made through another testing season. Forth grade has brought on a lot of new challenges; girls, sports competiveness & the dreaded EOG’s.

Overall, I would say he has had a pretty good year. As a parent and an educator I must admit the end of grade testing systems the schools districts use for accountability really frustrate me. Your child could have busted their butt all year and not be a great test taker and possibly fail for the year because of one test! On the flip side, your child could have been really lazy and not done any work all year but test well and automatically advance.

I hope one day a more efficient system to highlight a child’s individual strengths and address their weakness comes to light!

Proud mother & educator,

Shanta

It’s getting hot out there. As I write this, my three year old has two more days of preschool left before the summer officially begins. I know he is going to miss riding the bus every day and that not waiting on the porch for that big yellow vehicle is going to be a transition for him. He’ll probably get bored easily, so I’ll need ideas to keep him happy and entertained.

It sure feels like summer already though. It’s already in the mid-90s and that means lots of outside water fun and inside creativity to keep the little ones entertained. We enjoy playing at the park, swimming at the community pool and having cookouts with family and friends while the kiddos splash in the pool or sprinklers. My youngest loves helping me pot my plants and both of them love helping me water them. They usually water themselves more than the plants, but it’s all good, right? If nothing else, it makes for good photo opportunities.

With it being so hot in the south, we have to be creative though. We can’t be outside all day as it isn’t safe. The boys love to watch educational shows like Thomas the Train DVDs and PBS Kids Sprout and they also really like coloring and finger painting.

I would love some tips on summer activities that are educational and fun for toddlers. Please leave me some ideas in the comments section below. Thanks!

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

My son Shaughn is now a big fan of Dora the Explorer and when I say big fan, I mean it. He LOVES his Dora and can stop doing anything, even destructing the house, when he hears her voice or when they start to sing a song. While the show plays, I will catch him trying to sing along to it almost perfectly. I’ve heard him say clearly “backpack” and “I’m the map!” He has created his own fun dance for the “We did it!” song that just gets him going. I especially like how shows such as Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go teach spanish also. This is a learning experience for the both of us because while I am Puerto Rican, I do not know any spanish!

Ni Hao Kai-Lan is another good program that grabs his attention for a little while but not as well as Dora captivates him. We have to continually pull him away from standing right in front of the television when she comes on… maybe he thinks she will hear him if he’s right there? Haha. A boy can’t have a Dora only themed birthday party so I think for his second birthday we will have Diego with a hint of Dora in the picture also. Are there any programs that your child just absolutely has to watch?

Krystle