Mom, No-one will like you!

http://www.clipartof.com/gallery/clipart/worry.html

Tuesday was a public holiday.  While Hubby and I were still asleep, Kiddy#1 woke up and decided it is time to be her own hairdresser.  Within a few minutes she managed to cut all of her locks off!  I mean everything.  She came into our room with her hoodie on.  Seeing that it is summer, I found this a bit suspicious.  I asked her to please remove the hoodie, but she was hesitant.  After convincing her she took it off and I saw what she had done.  She simply said "Look Mom, I look like James".  I had no idea who James was.  I found out afterwards that he is a boy in her class.  At this point I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry.  It was pointless getting upset over it, because the scissors were left on a counter where she could reach them.  (May I just mention that I didn't leave them there!).  I took a picture of her new hair-do and showed her.  She was even more shocked than me and eventually started crying, begging me to put her long princess hair back!

The New School
The girls visited their new school and loved it!  I am so relieved.  They love their new teachers and when we dropped them off Kiddy#1 asked me to please leave her at school and to go to work!  Honestly... Mom's must be so thick-skinned!

Enough TV for one day!
On the weekend we were about to go out when I told Kiddy#1 she couldn't watch another DVD because we we had to go.  She was not impressed.  I've tried to explain that we were in a hurry to which she replied "Mom, no-one will like you!".  I must admit I did laugh to myself about that comment.  Obviously not where she could see me.  It reminded me so much of how cheeky I was at times when I was younger.

Routine went out the door!
Since the school holiday started the girls' routine is all messed up.  Granny is visiting so that is something new to them as well as we don't often get family visiting us.  That in itself caused their routine to be less-strict.  Last night they refused to go to sleep.  Daddy was working late and by 10PM I was still fighting to get them to go to sleep.  I heard Kiddy#2 fiddling and went to see what she was up to.  I found her lying in the passage with her pillow on the cold tiles!  I took a picture and when she saw the camera she loudly said "Cheeeeeeese!" with a big grin on her face!  Looking at the picture today I think she was so cute, naughty but cute.  Last night I was not so amused.

25 Days to Christmas
We've done a few crafts and read passages from the Bible surrounding Jesus' birth and upbringing.  Here are a few things we did (again, most of the ideas came from Melanie B. http://melanieblignaut.wordpress.com/):

(I baked these for them as a surprise)

On the days we didn't make any crafts we were singing Christmas Carols or they've made crafts at Sunday School.

Wishing everyone and your families a blessed Christmas filled with love, joy and peace. 

Counting our words

Little Kiddy#2 is at an age where she repeats EVERYTHING we say.  So now we have to be so very careful (we should always be, I know) of what we say in front of her.  Yesterday was so funny, her daddy was telling Kiddy#1 to pick up her toys and she echoed every command from him.  This really got to Kiddy#1 who walked out of the lounge while making little fists shouting her sister's name.  It was very funny, but of course we couldn't laugh because they were so serious about it.

Yesterday afternoon Kiddy#2 fell over clothes that was lying on the floor ready to be washed, and bumped her head against the door frame.  She had a big bump on her forehead.  Luckily the bump is gone now.  I got such a fright!


www.toysrus.com

They've got one of these bouncy animal things, I'm not sure what kind of animal it is, but it looks like it might be a cow.  (Not the one in the picture, theirs is yellow!).  One day Kiddy#2 came to me and asked me where "Boink" is.  We soon realized that she was referring to her bouncy animal toy.  We thought it was so cute that she named it so appropriately.

We haven't done a 25 Days To Christmas craft since Friday due to a lack of concentration and a lack of time, but we did do our daily Bible stories surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ.  Yesterday at Sunday School they made Angel Crafts made from Doilies and colourful pipe-cleaners.  Something similar to this:



The difference was that the bigger doilies were used for the body and the smaller ones for the wings.  The heads and halos were made from the pipe-cleaners.  They also received a cover for a light switch each with the verse, John 8:2, written on it.

Mom, pick me up!

Most embarrassing encounter (so far)
Oh my, did I truly and honestly experience my most embarrassing moment ever yesterday morning...  Oh the horror!!!  The day started out quite hectic as hubby had to leave for work VERY early in order to leave early to pick his Mum up from the airport.  That left me alone with the two little ones, in other words, getting them into the car on my own which sometimes is a mission in itself.  Never mind getting them ready and all that.  All went well until we went outside to get into the car, which hubby pulled out of the garage for me earlier.  My hands were full of keys and bags and of course little Kiddy#2 insisted that I pick her up.  Keep in mind that my knee-length pants that I was wearing are ever-so-slightly too big for me (I've worn it while I was pregnant!!).  So keeping it up was difficult even before picking Kiddy#2 up.

Long story short, Kiddy#2 held onto me more than me unto her as my hands were too full.  When we got to the car and she realized that I was going to put her down to open the door.  She refused to get down and slung her legs around me and in the process kicked my pants down!!!  I have never been so grateful that I was wearing a long-ish shirt!  There I was, hands full, a little toddler hanging on to me for dear life and my pants on my knees!  Luckily this was before 6am so not too much happening outside otherwise.  Kiddy#2 of course still wouldn't let go of me and I had to do a rain-dance in order to get her to let go so I could pull my pants back up.  I can just imagine someone peeking through their kitchen window watching in horror what happened in our front yard!

I would love to hear about other Moms and Dads' embarrassing stories!  (It does tend to make me feel slightly better, I have to admit!)

25 Days To Christmas
Two nights ago we read The Christmas Story, a version I found online.  It was easy for the littlies to understand and they loved it.  Here is the link:
http://www.whychristmas.com/story/the_christmas_story.shtml

Last night we read about Jesus being the light to the world.  Due to a lot happening yesterday (Granny arriving, etc), we didn't do a craft, but they did get some related pictures to colour in.  The reading of the Bible passage was quite challenging due to all the excitement around Granny visiting.

Toys
Granny brought presents for the girls, Kiddy#1 got two Monster High dols and Kiddy#2 received a wooden stacking toy which they both love!  They even took it to bed with them.

Educational Therapy
Kiddy#1 has another play therapy session tomorrow and will continue in the new year.  Next week they will be visiting their new school so that everything is not so new and strange in the New year.  I really do hope they like the new school and get used to it quickly.

Interrupted Sleep and Good Advice Followed

Last night I got such a big fright...  Let me explain.  It all started when little Kiddy#2 who normally sleeps through the night decided to see how loudly she can cry (or rather scream) minutes after I have fallen asleep.  Her Dad woke with a jump asking what is going on with the kids.  I in return jumped out of bed, running to their room only to find that she was just irritated by the blankets or her sister's feet or whatever it was that irritated her.  Back to bed I went.

An hour or so later, I didn't actually check the time this time around, same thing happened.  Kiddy#2 started screaming and flew open and at that instant I was looking straight into Kiddy#1's eyes which were mere millimeters away!  My heart stopped!  She was standing next to the bed with her nose against mine, probably hoping that I would wake up gently and make space for her to lie down!  Needless to say I got a big fright!  (putting it mildly!).  I took her hand and went back to their room to check on Kiddy#2, my heart still racing from the shock from seconds earlier.  I lied down with them until they were both asleep again.  As I got up they both woke up AGAIN!  So I lied back down as that was the only way I was going to get any sleep.  After a very uncomfortable hour or so I got up and went back to our bed.  At that point my heart was still racing and I was wondering if I shouldn't perhaps take something to calm me down.  I've decided against it and eventually fell asleep again.  This morning I could hardly get my eyes open when the alarm went off.

Advice followed
The Therapist Kiddy#1 has seen last week has given us some advice on how to handle some difficult situations that might arise like if she is whining or clingy, etc.  I wasn't sure if it would work, but this morning I put it to the test.  She was whining and telling me how she is going to be naughty from now on and how she is not going to listen to me because she is angry, etc. so I've played the 'reversed psychology" game with her and said to her "No, Mommy is going to be naughty, I'm the naughty one, not you, I am not going to listen and I'm going to be naughty.  I'm the naughty Mommy" and I carried on in a playful tone of cause.  The outcome was that both her and Kiddy#2 started giggling because now they have a 'serious problem' on their hands with Mommy being naughty and the problem was solved.  No more whining.  Of course I'm not convinced this will work every time, but it is worth a try.  It worked much better than fighting.

Craft update
I haven't had a chance to post an update on our craft projects, but here is the latest.  On Friday night we have made some Christmas-tree decorations again.  On Saturday night we made wings from paper plates and (don't laugh) corn on the cob leaves.  Last night we made crowns.  Kiddy#1 decided to use the tree decorations she made to decorate her crown.  Kiddy#2 used golden stars.  All of these were inspired once again by Melanie B.  You can see her blog here:  http://melanieblignaut.wordpress.com/.  I had to improvise on all of them because I haven't had a chance to go and buy supplies yet. We continued to speak about the prophecies from Angel Gabriel to Elizabeth and Maria about Jesus being born as the Messiah who will reign for all eternity and how John would prepare the way for him.  Here are some pics:

Visit from Granny
My Mom-In-Law is coming to visit from tomorrow and will stay until January.  I've mentioned this to the girls, but I don't think they realized what I've said.  I'm sure they will be pretty excited to see her though.  They only see each other once a year because we are staying so far apart.

New begiinings:
I had a nice chat with Kiddy#1 and Kiddy#2's new school principal for next about the issues we are experiencing with Kiddy#1 at the moment just to prepare them that it might be another difficult transition for Kiddy#1.  I'm feeling more relaxed about them starting at the new school.

Little Stars

Here is a quick update.  Kiddy#1 saw the Educational Therapist today and it went really well.  She basically picked up on everything we were hoping she would and also a whole lot more which we didn't realize.

For example, she cannot understand why we have moved, but is unable to put that into words to ask us.  She is also very sad to know that she will be starting at a new school next year.  She also picked up on sensory issues she will be focusing on and also that it can take up to 30 seconds for her to register that she has been given a task.  That is why she does not always respond immediately.

My heart is so sore knowing that she got into trouble so many times before for not responding the first (or second or third) time she has been told to do something, us not knowing that she couldn't help it.  The therapist said that we will just have to be very patient with her and she also discussed this with the school principal so she in return can talk to Kiddy#1's teacher.

I'm so glad we are making progress in helping our little princess.

Craft
We've made star Christmas Tree Decorations.  It was an idea I got from another Mommy's post.  You can see her post here:  http://melanieblignaut.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/12-days-of-christmas-day-4-felt-star-ornaments/.

We've read the passage about Maria visiting Zechariah and Elizabeth while both Maria and Elizabeth were pregnant.

Here is a picture of the little decorations (I had to improvise once again as we didn't have a lot of craft material available)

Show Time!

I was so looking forward to this morning.  Kiddy#1 is doing an extra-mural activity at school to help improve her speech.  It is a group activity with a few other children from her class and the older class.  She absolutely loves it.  And she adores the teacher.  It is easy to see why.  She arranged a little show for the parents at school today and Kiddy#1's dad and I had the privilege to meet her afterwards.  What a stunning person she is!  It is so obvious that she loves the children and loves helping them to improve their speech.

The show was so cute!  Kiddy#1 took part in school shows before, but this time around was so different.  She actually paid attention to what the teacher wanted her to do and did it so well!  I am so proud of our little girl I could burst!  She looked so happy!  I get all teary just thinking about it.

Both her daddy and I were so impressed with what this brilliant teacher managed to accomplish with Kiddy#1 in such a short period of time.  And for not giving up on her because she is sometimes very difficult to handle.

I've been so emotional all day thinking about what this woman accomplished with Kiddy#1, building a bond with her and really helping her working better in a group and improve her speech.  The girls will be moving to a new school in the new year as mentioned before.  I was so happy to find out today that she will still be able to get lessons from this teacher!  It makes things so much easier for Kiddy#1.  We would love for her to continue with the lessons.  Not having to find another "new" speech therapist just make thinks so much easier for her.

Ok so here is a little update on Day 3 of our 25 days to Christmas project.  We read about the Angel appearing to Mary telling her that she will fall pregnant with a baby boy who will reign for all eternity.  So we have made another little angel craft.  We just made it out of paper plates and little pieces of cardboard circles for the heads.  They have decorated it with different colours of sand, some stickers, colouring pencils, etc.  Here is a picture:

Once again the girls loved it :)

You are so cute!

Yesterday morning in front of the school the girls and I were waiting for the school to open.  We were very early.  Kiddy#2 pretended to be Kiddy#1's dog.  She gets this cute look on her face when she is a 'dog'.  So adorable.  Kiddy#1 loves this game and is so loving towards her sister then.

I've made a little video clip of them playing in the car.  They were both sitting on the passenger seat and Kiddy#1 asked me if the 'doggie' can sit on my lap.  I said no she must stay where she is next to Kiddy#1.  Next moment, Kiddy#1 did the most adorable thing.  She patted the 'doggie' on her head, gave her a cuddle saying "you are so cute!".  This just melted my heart!  Kiddy#2 had a look on her little face like the cat that got the cream!



Speech Therapy
Kiddy#1's speech is really improving.  She uses new phrases and words on a daily basis.  It is much easier to understand her too.  She still doesn't want to pronounce the "s" in front of a word like Snake (nake), School (chool), Spider (pider), etc.  Also, she does not say the word "very" she says "berry".  I must admit, I absolutely love it when she says "Yes, Mom, I love you BERRY much!".

Play Therapy
We have come to realize that Kiddy#1 struggles to adapt with change.  She gets quite aggressive and frustrated easily when there is a major change at home or school.  We had a scary incident in the car on our way home just over a week ago.  So much so that we had to pull over on the highway in order for her to get into her daddy's car.  Luckily he was driving in front of us.  She got very upset because I had to close her window after I've told her that she must stop putting her hand out.  She didn't listen so I had to follow through and close it.  What she had was not a temper tantrum, it seemed like she didn't understand herself why she was reacting the way she did.  Long story short, I've been speaking to a few professional people and eventually made a booking with a Play Therapist who would hopefully be able to help her deal with her frustrations better.  And hopefully she would be able to help us too to handle these incidents better as and when they arise.  I'm happy to say that this has only happened twice so far, but we are concerned as they will start at a new school again in the new year and we don't know how she would handle that.  Her first appointment is on Friday so hopefully some light can be shed on why she reacts this way and how we can help her soon!  She normally is such a loving child.

Arguing
Kiddy#2 realized that she can argue.  For example, if Kiddy#1 touches her hair she will respond by saying "No (Kiddy#1's name)!  Why you touch (Kiddy#2 name)'s hair?".  Or she will on our way home from school say things like "No (friend's name), why you take (Kiddy#2 name)'s toy? Naughty!".  Of course the poor friend who has been accused is not in the car with us :)  The moment I walk in the door to pick them up from school and she sees me, she immediately shouts at the principal that I'm her Mommy! and that (Kiddy#1's name) is HER (Kiddy#1's name)! Not to mention the fact that the teacher better hand the juice bottle over, because as you've guessed, it belongs to HER!

25 Days To Christmas - Day 2

Last night's activity was fun to make.  We read about the Angel Gabriel telling Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth would have a baby boy, John.  Zechariah did not believe him and because he did not believe could not speak until the prophecy was fulfilled (Luke 1:5 - 25).

We have made angel decorations to hang on the Christmas tree.  It was so easy and quick to make.  We've only needed some cardboard, coloring pencils, tissue paper (for wings), wool for hair and string to hang it.  Oh and thin golden ribbon for the halos.  The girls got very excited when they realized we had another project planned for the evening :)

25 Days To Christmas - Nativity Scene

Last year I saw a post where a Mommy created an Advent Calendar with her two sons.  I thought it was a brilliant way of teaching our girls why we as Christians celebrate Christmas.  So I've Google'd the topic and got some lovely ideas online.  So we have started with our own countdown to Christmas last night.

Day 1:  We've read the passage in the Bible about Jesus's birth.

As an activity Kiddy#1 and Kiddy#2 coloured in pictures of the Nativity Scene.  Then we created little figures with cones, sticking faces on (which they drew themselves) and sticking wool on for hair.  The "Angel" got a pair of paper wings.  Here are some pics.  The picture quality is not so good because my phone's flash did not work, but you will get the idea.  (The soft toy giraffes are obviously representing the animals in the stall, and next thing I saw was when little Kiddy#1 added a teddy bear!)   I will try to get better pics next time!

Tonight we will read a different passage and as a craft the girls will each make an "angel".  We have some video clips of Christmas songs which we will show them and hopefully they will soon learn the words to sing along!

We also have little Angel pictures to colour in to stick on our calendar.

They girls loved the story and activity last night.  I'm still thinking of a way to 'clothe' the figures.  Maybe with some Tissue Paper.  I will have to go shopping to get some supplies :)