A Few New Recipes

Here are the latest recipes over on my blog called Tracey's Kitchen. Hope you enjoy them!


Corned Beef and Cabbage Slow Cooker Meal


Dad's Chili


Quick Chicken with Saffron Rice Meal

Daddy Time Friday

There is a fun blog hop I'm joining up to created by a fellow blogger and Tot School mom, Patricia. Come join in the fun over at My Tot Learning Time where we get to thank our hubbies and share a little of what daddy is doing with our kids each week.

Last week Patricia wasn't able to post Daddy's Time Friday so this is a week old.....

We were on vacation without daddy, so I don't have many new pictures of daddy with J. But...I did find these two cute ones that I took one night this week when daddy was reading J some books before bed.

Enjoy the linkup!

Books We Are Reading

One of J's favorite activities is reading books and I absolutely love cuddling him on my lap and reading. I found a few book blog hops that I like linking up to. Not only is it a great way to record the wonderful books we've read, but I've found so many new good book ideas by visiting each week. Click on the buttons at the bottom to see what others have been reading!







Annie and Snowball and the Cozy Nest by Cynthia Rylant
We love reading stories about nature and wildlife and this one is special in that a momma robin comes to make a nest and raise her babies right on Annie's porch where she frequently hangs out with her big dog Snowball. I like the details of how they check the next day after day and share the changes taking place and how she shares this with her cousin Henry who also comes to watch.



Dear Dragon Goes to the Firehouse by Margaret Hillert
J continues to like books about fire men. In this book, a boy and his classroom get to visit a fire station. This book adds a little dragon that goes with the boy and J had fun pointing out what the dragon was doing. To me it was a little odd that the dragon was there, as they don't focus very much on the dragon, but I see that it's a whole book series (like Dragon Goes to the Market). But J liked that added detail of the dragon being there throughout the story.



The Frog in the Pond and other Animal Stories, The Children's Press
By far, I think this was J's favorite book this week. We seem to do really well with books that have multiple stories in them, especially stories that include animals. This one includes the title story plus Get Out of My Chair, Old Mo and One Smart Fish. The Frog story is so cute. The boy loves the frogs that come to the pond outside his house and decides to keep one for a pet. Well, the little frog gets so sad he stops croaking and won't eat anything. The boy realizes he probably misses his friends in the pond so he sets him free! Before the book told us the frog missed his friends, J said "I bet the frog misses his mommy and daddy!" J also liked the One Smart Fish about a girl Very cute.


The Gingerbread Man by Jim Ayelsworth
J really loves all things gingerbread, and this was no exception. Even though essentially this is the same story we've read in a couple other books, he still loves it and will request it. The ending in this one is a bit different, as the fox just ends up being too quick for the gingerbread and gobbles him up. There is not an ending in this book where the fox takes him for a ride through the water and ends up eventually eating him as he gets him to step closer and closer to his mouth. I found this author on one of the book blog posts last week and we have a few books of his coming like The Mitten.



How Do You Sleep by Louise Bonnett-Rampersaud
I notice I am really drawn to "going to sleep" type books lately. Gee, could it be that my son is struggling lately with going to sleep? He has always been such a great sleeper yet now he really fights the idea of taking a nap or going to bed. He'll go, but not without some huge protests. So books like these are great finds for us, as it does help settle him in with the idea of going to sleep. This book is all about how different animals go to sleep, like the bear who hibernates or the bird who sleeps in his nest and the end shares how little ones go to sleep.



Kate's Surprise by Ann E. Burg
I've made a couple selections lately based on the diversity of the kids shown in the story. This book, along with a Scholastic Video of The Snowy Day by Ezra Keats. It wasn't until recently that it dawned on me so many of our books are all pictures of Caucasians. J really liked this book. It's a sweet little story about a boy who is sick and can't go outside and play in the snow and watches with longing as his sister is playing and sledding in the snow. The best part is when Kate makes a "surprise" for her brother Pete; a snowman ice cream sundae! J especially liked that part. I just loved the illustrations too. I found out this is also part of the "Rookie Reader" book series. "These leveled books actively engage young readers, encourage language development, build fluency, and promote independent reading" I'm already finding more of them and putting them on hold for us at the library.



Snow Wonder by Charles Ghigna
This is a cute book about all the "wonders" of winter and being able to enjoy the outdoors and the snow. The little girl and boy watch the snow fall, go outside to enjoy it by sledding, ice skating and coming inside to enjoy a good book and hot chocolate with Grandma and Grandpa. It's a book that celebrates family and the winter season.



Tuck Me In by Dean Hacohen
OK, I found this book to be just adorable. It is such a simple story, yet so cute. On each page there is a baby animal with the animal being asked, "Who wants to be tucked in?" The animal on the page says, "I do!" so you take the little flap (which is a little blanket to tuck in the animal) and place it on the baby. The next words are "Goodnight baby _____(zebra, pig, elephant, etc.)!" My son also had fun reading this one to himself. Very sweet and another good "going to bed" book for us.



When I Grow Up by Caleb Burroughs
This is a fun Dora book where it has a little bit of story, but a lot of pictures. J liked that it was Dora in a fire helmet and that intrigued him. Throughout the book they look at various careers Dora and friends could have when they grow up. What I really like is that they have a seek and find activity on each page. They'll have several pictures on the side that the kids are asked to find within in the bigger picture. J loved doing this and asked for this book often.

Click the links below to see what others are reading!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

**J is 32 months old**

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Tiny Talk Tuesday is a way to share the fun and interesting things our kids are saying. I love joining up for this blog carnival at Not Before 7. Click her button above to see what kind of Tiny Talk has been overhead in the homes of others!

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I'm a day late today in linking up....but I've missed not being a part of this linky!

This was the cutest thing. J was eating some red grapes and he looks at his empty plate and says, "Hey mom! The grapes are going through my body!"


I got a Reader Rabbit CD-Rom from the library that J is just ga-ga over. He is finally getting to learn to use the mouse. They have this software at the library and I noticed how J just loved playing it. It is very toddler-friendly. Well, J was playing one of the songs and dancing. He tells me, "I'm dancing on my feet momma!" So I said, "Well, it's better than dancing on your head!" Next thing I know, I hear J say, "I'm dancing on my head mommy!" I look around the corner and sure enough, he's dancing while his head is on the ground. I really wish I took a picture, but I was too busy laughing! He said, "Go bye bye mommy." So I went back to the kitchen until he said, "I'm dancing on my head again!" He did this a few times and loved making me laugh.

Thanks for visiting!

A Living Sacrifice

One of the things that really stood out from my year-in-review was a desire for more prayer and worship in my daily devotional life. I'll start the story by saying I took on a little cleaning project yesterday. The project was cleaning out the pantry. This was a huge deal. The pantry had become the place where I put things that were "overflow" or that I really didn't know where to put. I'd say to myself, "I'll just put them in the pantry." Well, things were so haphazard in there and were falling out all the time, I knew it would be a blessing to clean it out. Not just for me, but for L too. It just brings so much peace when things are less cluttered and disorganized. This entailed taking everything out of the closet, throwing tons of it away and sorting through everything so I could put everything back nice and orderly. So I was listening to my worship music player and it was just incredible what happened. A Chris Tomlin song came on, "How Great is Our God" and my heart just about melted. Immediately the song brought forth tears and I found myself in true worship. The words just flowed from my heart to the Lord as I sang, cried and just praised my savior. Here's the song, I really love the words.

How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin



The words that tell of the Lord's sovereignty (time is in his hands - beginning and the end) were so moving as I thought about my depression and having this feeling like I'd never get better or I'd never feel like "myself" again. Now being on the other side of that, I see how everything is truly in his hands and again I just praised him for the work and healing he has done in my heart.

As if this worship time could get any better, the next song had the same effect. It was The Wonderful Cross by Matt Redman/Chris Tomlin. The words were just piercing. The agony which Christ took on FOR ME,
"See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

O the wonderful cross,
O the wonderful cross,
Bids me come and die
And find that I MAY TRULY LIVE."

I took on the words like it was me singing them to the Lord and it was so powerful to present that to him, a living sacrifice. Like Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

I just meditated upon the words as I sang them and felt such gratefulness, a thankfulness that words can't do justice.

I just love HIM! I love Jesus. My savior, My all.
"Love so amazing, so divine.
Demands my soul, my life, my all."

Books We Are Reading

One of J's favorite activities is reading books and I absolutely love cuddling him on my lap and reading. I found a few book blog hops that I like linking up to. Not only is it a great way to record the wonderful books we've read, but I've found so many new good book ideas by visiting each week. Click on the buttons at the bottom to see what others have been reading!

Highlights of our favorites this week:

The Adventures of Old Bo Bear by Alice Schertle
It was the cover of this book that really caught my interest. It was a little boy with an upside down colander on his head looking through a (paper towel roll) telescope alongside a little teddy bear with a hat and walking stick. These two go on a some neat adventures together like a picnic in a nook under the tree branches and a trip to a construction site. The book was really cute.



Good Night, Good Knight by Shelley Moore Thomas
On the outside cover of this little book are three cute little dragons looking like they're getting ready for bed. I love getting books about going to bed since they go so well with our bedtime routine. J is at the stage now that he knows what a knight is and in this book the poor knight watchman keeps getting called out to the forest after hearing a roar, only to find out it's one of the little dragons needing some help getting to bed. This was fun to read.



Max Goes to the Nature Center by Adria Klein
I couldn't find a picture of this for the widget above, but this was another one we liked. They have a whole series of Max books and this one fit well for our vacation. We had a nature center nearby that we hiked to while J was on my back in a backpack. We enjoyed reading this book and talking about the nature center we visited; the birds and different animals that we saw.



Noisy Zoo by Sam Taplin
Occasionally, I will find a book that has sound buttons on it, as J is still really fond of them. This one has a variety of zoo animals with their sound buttons. There is not much to read, but J really liked pressing the buttons to hear the animals like the lion's roar, the dolphin's click and the elephant's trumpeting. We brought this to the pediatrician's office to entertain J while we were waiting. I think we entertained the staff too.


Out Came the Sun; A Day in Nursery Rhymes by Kids Can Press
I enjoy finding good nursery rhyme books and this one was a good find. Not only did it have many of the more well-known nursery rhymes like I'm a Little Tea Pot and Itsy Bitsy Spider and some new ones too like Higglety, Pigglety, Pop but the rhymes also tell the story of a child's day from waking up to going to bed. I also liked the fun illustrations.

Click the links below to see what others are reading!

Tot School (Popcorn, Fine Motor, Bird Feeder)

**J is 32 months old**

I love doing Tot School with J! We are very laid back and so far I don't really plan anything. I keep a lot of things visible to J and let him lead when it's time to do some focused learning-play. Thanks for stopping by!


Popcorn Sorting and Scooping











































The last time we played with popcorn, it got a bit messy. All J wanted to do was break them apart. This time we were more organized. I held his fire hat like a bucket and he picked them out of the bin and put them in the hat. He loved going back and forth doing this for a while. Then that got boring so I got out his shovel and he was scooping and digging in the bin.


Fine Motor Learning





























J wanted to dump these out and put them back into the container. They were pretty small craft stars so it was great for his fine motor skills.






























J wanted to "feed" his dinosaurs so I got him a jar of marbles and let him dump them into a bowl. He then was putting them back in the jar and also working on screwing on and off the lid.


Miniature Bird Nests






























I forgot I bought these little bird nests and mini cardinals with eggs at the craft store earlier this winter. J found them and loved putting them together.


Pine Cone Bird Feeders

One thing I've been wanting to do for a while is make pine cone bird feeders. We finally did it! It was a little hard to find these big pine cones. We had dinner at my other sister's house and with J and the kids we went out with a flash light at dusk and were able to find several good ones. J and I had a great time with this. I wasn't sure how he'd do with the messy peanut butter, but he managed it pretty well. We used tiny spatulas to spread on the peanut butter first. J called it "painting". Then we rolled them in bird seed and then used gardening wire (kind of like twist-ties) and then we hung them on an old Christmas tree outside. Somehow I spaced out taking a picture of the tree once we had all 8 little pine cones tied to it. We didn't have to wait very long and some chickadees came for a visit. Then a squirrel found them but there was plenty to go around.

Learning CD-Rom































I got a Reader Rabbit CD-Rom from the library that J is just nuts over. He is finally getting to learn to use the mouse. They have this software at our library and I noticed how J just loved playing it. It is very toddler-friendly. There are several different games like this shapes matching game, a painting game, a letter matching game. They are helping him work on his ABCs, letter recognition, colors, shapes and using the mouse.

See the fun things other moms are doing at the Weekly Wrap Up, another place I link up.

Quick and Easy Beef and Bean Burritos

I made another new dish tonight. Actually, I've made burritos before but never made ones this good. I love the Pioneer Woman. Follow the link to Tracey's Kitchen for the recipe.

New Recipe (Curry Potato Soup - Mulligatawny)

If you like curry and you like soup, check out the newest recipe on my blog, Tracey's Kitchen. This is a wonderful soup with a teensy bit of spice.

We Play (We're Back)

I love being a stay-at-home mom and feel so blessed to do so. I also love taking pictures of all the things we are doing. In the past, I had been adding my play time pictures to my weekly Tot School post but decided this would be a new and fun way to post them.

Come over to play at the Childhood 101 We Play link up:

**J is 32 months old**

Playing with Fire Trucks

I love it when J lines up his toys to play with them. This time, he was lining up his fire trucks and playing with them.

Coloring

This continues to be one of J's favorite activities. I am always on the look out for cool and fun coloring books.


PlayMobil

We went to our friend's house on New Year's Eve and J discovered this little PlayMobil set. He had a lot of fun playing with the different figures. He played with the pirate, set up the camp fire and played with the canon.

This little computer is a great learning tool. It has several different settings like ABC's and music. J often likes the ABC setting where he presses a letter, it says the letter and gives a word starting with the letter. He likes repeating it so it's been a good way for him to learn what words start with.

We did a little play with playdoh. His favorite thing was making "donuts" with "strawberries" and then pizza with pepperoni.

We spent a little time outside playing while we were on vacation at my sister's house.

One of the greatest activities for us while on our little vacation was watching the wildlife from the kitchen. Every day we would put out small piles of bird seed around the patio. We also made little peanut butter sandwiches which we cut up and put out for the squirrels. Then we just sat and waited until they came. It was amazing all the different birds we saw (blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers, finches and juncos). We also saw a large hawk and lots of squirrels.
We love watching wild life.

Pine Cone Bird Feeders

This was my favorite activity. One thing I've been wanting to do for a while is make pine cone bird feeders. We finally did it! It was a little hard to find these big pine cones. We had dinner at my other sister's house and with J and the kids we went out with a flash light at dusk and were able to find several good ones. J and I had a great time with this. I wasn't sure how he'd do with the messy peanut butter, but he managed it pretty well. We used tiny spatulas to spread on the peanut butter first. J called it "painting". Then we rolled them in bird seed and then used gardening wire (kind of like twist-ties) and then we hung them on an old Christmas tree outside. Somehow I spaced out taking a picture of the tree once we had all 8 little pine cones tied to it. We didn't have to wait very long and some chickadees came for a visit. Then a squirrel found them but there was plenty to go around.

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