Mrs. H

Goodbye to Wednesday, Hello to YOU!

I have loved sharing “Wacky Wednesday” posts with my readers for quite a while now, and I need to make an effort to continue to record the fun little things Becca says. However, due to time constraints with my business and really attempting to put out some pretty meaty posts with themes M, T, Th, and F, I’m going to make the step to say Goodbye to Wednesday. Four posts a week with the level of “meat” I’m sharing is gonna be it for a while. Doesn’t mean I won’t ever do a Wacky Wednesday post, but it’s not going to be a regular series on the blog any more.

I am instead looking to add some guest posts on Wednesdays – do you have an educational or parenting topic you’d like to share? Something fabulous you’ve done with your kiddos that you are proud of? Or an obstacle you have figured out how to overcome in your household? Maybe you are a big-time blogger already, maybe you’ve only dabbled… or maybe you are just contemplating entering the world of blogging? Perhaps you’re “just” a parent, who has something meaningful to share in one post? I’d love to have you share what’s in your heart – here – on Wednesdays! Please contact me to let me know what you’ve got on your heart, and we’ll figure out the best Wednesday for you to share! I look forward to seeing what my readers are doing, and getting you guys and gals sharing YOUR ideas too!

I’m so excited next week to be kicking things off with a post from a dear friend whose little girl is just a joy. But then… I’m not the one raising her and teaching her that is’s not ok to grab things off of that third shelf!! I’m anxious to share with you how Aly is working with little Amelia on boundaries – these are your items, these are Mommy’s. I always love to hear how other parents approach everyday issues like these, and this is one Mama who has really made good strides to figuring out what works with her daughter. I’m SO glad to be sharing her tips with you! (And excited to read them and learn from her myself as we approach this issue again with our Baby Bee, who is MUCH more of an explorer than our Big Butterfly ever was!)

Strawberry Bread

Kids in the Kitchen is back! All this month, in my Tuesday Mini-Series, I will be sharing ideas, recipes, and tips for getting your kids more involved in the kitchen! I absolutely love to cook and bake, and it’s so fun to see that love of being in the kitchen rub off on Becca! She is really starting to ask more and more to help and be involved in the inner workings of what goes on in the kitchen.

Today, I’ll be sharing one of my favorite recipes with you – and I’d love to encourage you. I know that it’s SO SO hard to be patient enough to bring your preschooler into the kitchen and allow him or her to help. Boy, do I ever know how hard that is. I am learning daily how little patience I have. But, I’m also learning how to best communicate my frustrations to Becca, and we’re learning together how to work together and co-exist in a meaningful way. So – don’t hesitate to CARVE OUT TIME to make that special item TOGETHER instead of just whipping it up yourself. And this recipe today is one that they’ll be so proud they helped with!

I found the recipe originally from Jam Hands, as a pin on Pinterest.
If you want to try any of the fabulous Pinterest recipes I’ve tried, you can check them out here:

I’ve made it several times, but never allowed Becca to help. She was in a huge strawberry eating phase (which has now passed by the time I’m typing this post… by the time it actually posts on the blog next week, she may be back in it… fickle!), so I decided I’d let her help. I’m so glad I did! We had so much fun!

She enjoyed helping me cut the tops off of the strawberries, which is something I would NOT have let her do if she didn’t have this “My Safe Cutter” (from Pampered Chef – not an affiliate link, but this is the website of a dear friend, and she would certainly appreciate your order.) With it, she is able to begin the fine motor practice of how to hold a knife, and can use it to saw small fruits and veggies into pieces. For a child who struggles with many fine motor skills, it’s the perfect tool to allow her to SAFELY help, and to get that fine motor practice she needs. If you are looking to get your preschooler involved in the kitchen, no matter their level of fine motor abilities, I highly suggest this $4.75 purchase!!!

Then, after we got the strawberries cut, I would measure the ingredients and she would pour them into the bowl. She’s learning how to use her “strong hand” to pour, and her “helper hand” to steady the cup she’s pouring from. (Looking for ideas to help your lefty? Check out this post I did on Supporting your Lefty.) She has also learned how to keep her hands back from the mixer as it processes so that she doesn’t get hurt. She loves watching the mixer, and is doing a really great job of hanging onto her Kitchen Helper (aff link, thank you!) to keep her hands busy so she doesn’t forget and reach into the bowl. (Please note – Cody custom built our Kitchen Helper, but the link here is to one that is somewhat similar if you are interested in simply purchasing one instead of building your own. 🙂

Here’s the recipe as we made it (I have also made it with half strawberries and half blueberries, and it’s excellent that way.):

Strawberry Bread

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups fresh strawberries

1. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl.
2. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
3. Beat in the vanilla.
4. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in another bowl.
5. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet.
6. Mix 1/2 of the sour cream into the wet ingredients.
7. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet.
8. Mix the remaining sour cream into the wet ingredients.
9. Mix the remaining dry ingredients into the wet.
10. Mix in the strawberries.
11. Pour the batter into a greased pans (I use mini loaf pans to make four loaves – you could make one large loaf in a 9×5 if you wanted).
12. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes for a 9×5, or check around 40 mins for four mini loaves.

Mirror Interaction

It’s been a while since I did a Baby Bees post, and part of that has been because our Baby Bee is just flying all OVER the place right now and I just can’t keep up! Crawling, pulling up to his knees, trying to eat everything (he’s teething – aren’t they always teething?), and of course wanting lots and lots of snuggles.

Today’s idea is one that might seem like a “no-brainer,” but it’s easy to forget to carve out time in the DAILY schedule for it. Even if you just take a couple minutes, make time to put your Baby Bee in front of the mirror DAILY. You can begin holding Baby Bee up to the mirror once you see that Baby Bee can focus on you and your face, and recognize you from across the room. At first, Baby Bee won’t recognize him/herself, or you. But eventually, they will begin to focus on your face in the mirror as you hold them close. I love love love sharing smiles through the mirror with my Baby Bee (and my Big Butterfly, too!). Once Baby Bee is secure sitting up alone (with you right behind), a great idea is to use your bathroom vanity for mirror time! As Baby Bee gets more secure in sitting up, you can step to the side, and let Baby Bee fully interact only with his/her reflection. It’s an amazing thing to watch.

Watching themselves in the mirror helps Baby Bees gain confidence in their movements, as they watch the other Baby Bee in the mirror do what they do. I read this really amazing article from Nat Geo about what animals (specifically dogs, dolphins, elephants, magpies, some great apes, flamingoes, and horses) see in the mirror, and it says it takes human babies 18-24 months to truly “catch on” and realize they are looking at themselves. It’s so so important to have this mirror interaction time for them to play, experiment, and learn from the Baby Bee that’s staring back at them.

As in my photos, once your Baby Bee is confident sitting up in front of the mirror, and is used to interacting with that other Baby Bee that they see, try adding an object for play. Grayson played with his hat for several long minutes, and finally began moving his hat to see if the Baby Bee in the mirror would move HIS hat, too! It was so cute – specifically in the bottom left photo, he picked up his hat, and shook it, then shook it again, intently watching the other Baby Bee in the mirror. I knew he was done interacting when he looked up at my reflection, held my eyes, and smiled. (Bottom right.) We smiled at each other for a minute, but once he found my face, he was done looking at the other Baby Bee in the mirror.

Do you try mirror interaction with your Baby Bee? Share what activities you have done in front of the mirror! I’d love to get your feedback!

Love this post? Share it with others! Also, be sure to “Like” and “Follow” my Facebook page for more posts like these and ideas from other bloggers about similar topics. Facebook selects for you which pages’ posts show on your news feed, so be sure to click over to my page frequently and “like”, “comment”, and “share” my posts so that Facebook will show them to you in your feed!

Welcome to March!

Wow. It’s already March. Of TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN! Somehow, as a kid growing up, the two thousands seemed so very far away… and yet, here we are, well into our fifteenth year of them. As a kid, had anyone told me what this year would hold for me, I probably would have thought them absurd. And yet, here we are!

I’m so excited about what this month holds for the blog – with a weekly Monday post of Baby Bee learning activities, Tuesdays in the kitchen with our kids, Wednesdays… well, check back this Wednesday – I don’t want to give away that surprise too early! Thursdays will continue our STEAM focus, and I’ve got some really fun stuff to share with you. Fridays will continue to be Fun with Art, starting this week with a super fun St. Patty’s day painting project.

Plus, over on my Facebook page (have you “liked” it yet?) starting today, I’ll be sharing 31 REAL books – every day focusing on non-fiction favs to get your kids excited about reading and learning. So be sure to check over there every day at noon CST and be sure to SHARE with your friends the books that you and your kids have enjoyed as I post them! This week is random, but next week, we’ll be taking a tour across the US, with a different state highlighted each day (some of you might get some shout-outs, so be sure to check in!), then we’ll look at a whole week’s worth of non-fiction books for your littlest Baby Bees, spend a week on animal books, and “dive right in, now don’t be shy” with a week of Magic School Bus Fact AND Fiction literature! It’s sure to be a fabulous month on the Facebook page – not only with all the books, but also as I continue to share articles shared by other bloggers in topics relative to parenting, crafting, and helping your kiddos (and mine!) with special needs. Remember that Facebook does weird stuff (all part of it being free, I suppose) and picks and chooses what shows up on your news feed… so you probably should plan to click on over to my page every day or two just to make sure that you’ve seen everything I’ve shared. The one thing Facebook might decide to NOT show you might be the thing that makes the most difference in your parenting strategies or be the project that becomes your kids’ favorite!

Have a wonderful, blessed month, and don’t forget that you can always CONTACT ME to share your ideas, photos, and success stories! I’d love to be able to add a “Follower Feedback” page on here to share what’s working for you! 🙂

Make Your Own Foot Book!

Typically on Fridays, I try to share ideas that you could add to your 2016 Calendar… but this one is a little off topic… yet still right in line with keeping the ART in STEAM… so… we made our own Foot Book! As you know from Wednesday’s post, Becca LOVES The Foot Book (Aff link, thank you!) So I thought we’d have a little fun and make our own.

I grabbed some old shoes that we couldn’t do anything with anyway, and we did some paint stamping. But, we also stamped with our actual feet, and had fun (LOTS OF GIGGLES!) running to the tub (after having painted in our skivvies) and hopping in to wash all the paint off. WORD TO THE WISE: Tempera pant washes off tile super easily… the grout, well… the grout is still blue. (Insert super embarrassed Mommy face here, and a not-so-thrilled Daddy face… sigh. Please learn from my mistake and use washable finger paints… and still, be careful of the grout.)

Anyway, after all of our art was dry, I taped the pages together with the Washi tape of her choosing, and then she helped me pick what words to put on which page. We didn’t make enough art to do a page for the entire Seuss book – we just picked our favorite pages. Definitely had a blast making it, and she loves reading back through it and giggling all over again about running to the tub with Mommy to wash off our blue and yellow feet. Good times. (Even if I do still need to make a baking soda paste and see if I can scrub the grout with a toothbrush….)