Happy Valentine's Day!
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Last-Minute Valentines: Free Printable!
We actually did not wait until the last minute to make and address Valentines this year...but I thought I'd share the printable template I made, because it's pretty versatile. You can have your kids make construction-paper heart animals like we did, or if you're really pressed for time, they can just draw pictures.
I printed these on cardstock, turning them upside-down and re-feeding them through the printer (the sides matched up perfectly). Just cut the sheets in half after they're printed, fill in the blanks, fold on the lines, and close it up with tape or a sticker.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Why I'm Doing My Christmas Shopping at Five Below
Scroll down for the Sunday Parenting Party.
(And this is not a sponsored post, although it should be.)
This Christmas will be my sixth Christmas as a mom. As I get more experienced, I'm kind of thinking that I had it right the first year: I think I spent around $25 on Bug's first Christmas. He was barely two months old, and I probably bought him a rattle and some stuffed animals. I remember feeling a tremendous amount of guilt for spending so little on my precious firstborn, but we had a wonderful first Christmas nonetheless.
Last year I made two huge mistakes. First, I bought two of everything in an attempt to circumvent the inevitable bickering between siblings. Long story short: it didn't help with the arguing, and each of my boys got a lot of toys that were not the best match for their individual interests and personalities. Dumb idea. Second: I was overly concerned about competing with the grandparents as far as the sheer number and monetary value of gifts. Again, dumb idea. The boys are still to young to remember who exactly gave them what...and plus...I know, rationally, that no matter how many Kindle Fire HDs or $100 LEGO sets a kid gets from extended family, he'll eventually grow up and "get" the big picture like we all do.
So, Prickly Mom, let's chill out and do Christmas 2013 differently. Let's look at the facts: my kids do not need more toys...but that's what they want--more toys. I look at the toys around my house regularly and ask myself, do the boys really need this? No. Do they even play with this? No. Do I really want to be a player in this consumerism-focused, useless plastic-fest? Um, no. So here's the strategy I've decided to try this year: doing all my Christmas shopping at Five Below.
Think about it: Five Below has Play-Doh (my kids always love Play-Doh). They have Angry Birds sticker books (the boys love anything Angry Birds). They have art supplies (something we use daily around here). They have cool candy novelties (kids love candy). They have lava lamps (good for decorating bedrooms). They have a bunch of cheap-o toys and games (which kids always want for some reason).
This is the perfect solution, right? I don't waste a lot of money, the boys get to open a lot of presents, and everything is either useful or designed to be eaten or break and be thrown out before the New Year. Don't get me wrong; I am buying a few medium-ticket items from ToysRUs (I'm not a complete Scrooge), but I have confidence that this might be a good way to tackle Christmas for Prickly Family.
Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party, hosted by Dirt and Boogers, Play Activities, Crayon Freckles, Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, Prickly Mom, and The Tao of Poop. The SPP is place for readers to find ideas on nurturing, educating, and caring for children, as well as honest posts about the stresses of being a parent or caregiver. Links to reviews and giveaways are welcome as long as they are relevant to the topic. All parenting philosophies are welcome with one exception: please do not link to posts promoting physical discipline, as this is something we would feel uncomfortable having on our blogs. (P.S. By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest, Sulia, G+ and FB friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on The Sunday Parenting Party Pinterest board.)
I had to choose five submissions to highlight from last week...and I could have chosen more! Great posts, fellow moms!
(And this is not a sponsored post, although it should be.)
This Christmas will be my sixth Christmas as a mom. As I get more experienced, I'm kind of thinking that I had it right the first year: I think I spent around $25 on Bug's first Christmas. He was barely two months old, and I probably bought him a rattle and some stuffed animals. I remember feeling a tremendous amount of guilt for spending so little on my precious firstborn, but we had a wonderful first Christmas nonetheless.
Last year I made two huge mistakes. First, I bought two of everything in an attempt to circumvent the inevitable bickering between siblings. Long story short: it didn't help with the arguing, and each of my boys got a lot of toys that were not the best match for their individual interests and personalities. Dumb idea. Second: I was overly concerned about competing with the grandparents as far as the sheer number and monetary value of gifts. Again, dumb idea. The boys are still to young to remember who exactly gave them what...and plus...I know, rationally, that no matter how many Kindle Fire HDs or $100 LEGO sets a kid gets from extended family, he'll eventually grow up and "get" the big picture like we all do.
 |
| Cheap, cool game. |
Think about it: Five Below has Play-Doh (my kids always love Play-Doh). They have Angry Birds sticker books (the boys love anything Angry Birds). They have art supplies (something we use daily around here). They have cool candy novelties (kids love candy). They have lava lamps (good for decorating bedrooms). They have a bunch of cheap-o toys and games (which kids always want for some reason).
This is the perfect solution, right? I don't waste a lot of money, the boys get to open a lot of presents, and everything is either useful or designed to be eaten or break and be thrown out before the New Year. Don't get me wrong; I am buying a few medium-ticket items from ToysRUs (I'm not a complete Scrooge), but I have confidence that this might be a good way to tackle Christmas for Prickly Family.
Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party, hosted by Dirt and Boogers, Play Activities, Crayon Freckles, Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, Prickly Mom, and The Tao of Poop. The SPP is place for readers to find ideas on nurturing, educating, and caring for children, as well as honest posts about the stresses of being a parent or caregiver. Links to reviews and giveaways are welcome as long as they are relevant to the topic. All parenting philosophies are welcome with one exception: please do not link to posts promoting physical discipline, as this is something we would feel uncomfortable having on our blogs. (P.S. By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest, Sulia, G+ and FB friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on The Sunday Parenting Party Pinterest board.)I had to choose five submissions to highlight from last week...and I could have chosen more! Great posts, fellow moms!
- When Your Child Is Anxious (Mommy, for Real)
- Thanksgiving Devotional: Five Grains of Corn (Grandparents Plus)
- Finding Time for Mom (Dirt and Boogers)
- Teaching Kindness (Green Owl Art)
- 10 Blessings in Disguise (Mamas Like Me)
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Gratitude for Ungrateful Kids
Scroll down for the Sunday Parenting Party
My initial guess is that this is not going to be a well-received point of view. Especially because I'm about to bring up Dr. Laura Schlesinger.
The other day, a mom called into the Dr. Laura radio show to complain about her ungrateful tween daughter. "She thinks the whole world revolves around her," the exasperated mother lamented. The mom then went on to describe what I think we all experience as middle-class parents. The kids don't appreciate anything: the mound of toys we buy for them, the lessons we pay for and shuttle them back and forth to, the fabulous trips from every festival in town to amusement parks in other states, the meals we meticulously prepare and then and inevitably scrape into the garbage disposal half an hour later.
And then Dr. Laura broke in with her response. They're kids. They don't know anything besides this. They don't have the experience or worldview that we parents do.
Okay, that was unexpected.
I don't remember if she ended up giving the mom any actual advice, but that call really struck a nerve. We all want our kids to be grateful (especially around this time of year). But seriously...we do give them everything they want--and more. They haven't forgone ice skating or ballet lessons because Mom and Dad couldn't afford it. They haven't lived an entire summer eating only canned pork and beans and ramen noodles. They haven't gone without health insurance for a couple years. They havent lived in a rat-, cockroach-, or flying ant-infested house with a broken down furnace.
Don't get me wrong: I want my kids to be thankful. The fact that they are usually not thankful upsets and pains me. Sometimes, when I get really exasperated, I wish I could send them down to the 'hood for a few days to live in a dirty apartment with ten siblings, no dad, and a mommy who didn't even want them in the first place (then I lighten up a little and think maybe we should just go on a working farm vacation over in Amish country).
My point is this: Dr. Laura is right. They don't get it. So what do we do? Make them do a few chores. Make sure they see you doing your chores. Don't serve their food arranged in the shape of a teddy bear. Talk to them about some of the tough times you went through as a kid (my personal favorites are the one where Dad had pneumonia and we had to live on deer meat and welfare cheese for a month, and the sad story about how I asked Santa for the Barbie Dream House* every year and never got it).
They'll figure it out eventually.
*If you're a fellow child of he '70s or '80s and never got the Barbie Dream House either, watch this video. The memory of this commercial will be like a dagger in your heart. I promise.
Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party, hosted by Dirt and Boogers, Play Activities, Crayon Freckles, Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, Prickly Mom, and The Tao of Poop. The SPP is place for readers to find ideas on nurturing, educating, and caring for children, as well as honest posts about the stresses of being a parent or caregiver. Links to reviews and giveaways are welcome as long as they are relevant to the topic. All parenting philosophies are welcome with one exception: please do not link to posts promoting physical discipline, as this is something we would feel uncomfortable having on our blogs. (P.S. By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest, Sulia, G+ and FB friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on The Sunday Parenting Party Pinterest board.)
My initial guess is that this is not going to be a well-received point of view. Especially because I'm about to bring up Dr. Laura Schlesinger.
The other day, a mom called into the Dr. Laura radio show to complain about her ungrateful tween daughter. "She thinks the whole world revolves around her," the exasperated mother lamented. The mom then went on to describe what I think we all experience as middle-class parents. The kids don't appreciate anything: the mound of toys we buy for them, the lessons we pay for and shuttle them back and forth to, the fabulous trips from every festival in town to amusement parks in other states, the meals we meticulously prepare and then and inevitably scrape into the garbage disposal half an hour later.
And then Dr. Laura broke in with her response. They're kids. They don't know anything besides this. They don't have the experience or worldview that we parents do.
Okay, that was unexpected.
I don't remember if she ended up giving the mom any actual advice, but that call really struck a nerve. We all want our kids to be grateful (especially around this time of year). But seriously...we do give them everything they want--and more. They haven't forgone ice skating or ballet lessons because Mom and Dad couldn't afford it. They haven't lived an entire summer eating only canned pork and beans and ramen noodles. They haven't gone without health insurance for a couple years. They havent lived in a rat-, cockroach-, or flying ant-infested house with a broken down furnace.
Don't get me wrong: I want my kids to be thankful. The fact that they are usually not thankful upsets and pains me. Sometimes, when I get really exasperated, I wish I could send them down to the 'hood for a few days to live in a dirty apartment with ten siblings, no dad, and a mommy who didn't even want them in the first place (then I lighten up a little and think maybe we should just go on a working farm vacation over in Amish country).
My point is this: Dr. Laura is right. They don't get it. So what do we do? Make them do a few chores. Make sure they see you doing your chores. Don't serve their food arranged in the shape of a teddy bear. Talk to them about some of the tough times you went through as a kid (my personal favorites are the one where Dad had pneumonia and we had to live on deer meat and welfare cheese for a month, and the sad story about how I asked Santa for the Barbie Dream House* every year and never got it).
They'll figure it out eventually.
*If you're a fellow child of he '70s or '80s and never got the Barbie Dream House either, watch this video. The memory of this commercial will be like a dagger in your heart. I promise.
Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party, hosted by Dirt and Boogers, Play Activities, Crayon Freckles, Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, Prickly Mom, and The Tao of Poop. The SPP is place for readers to find ideas on nurturing, educating, and caring for children, as well as honest posts about the stresses of being a parent or caregiver. Links to reviews and giveaways are welcome as long as they are relevant to the topic. All parenting philosophies are welcome with one exception: please do not link to posts promoting physical discipline, as this is something we would feel uncomfortable having on our blogs. (P.S. By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest, Sulia, G+ and FB friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on The Sunday Parenting Party Pinterest board.)Sunday, September 22, 2013
Stop the Birthday Madness
Scroll down for the Sunday Parenting Party.
Bug is going to turn six about six weeks from now, and I know I'm already totally behind the game as far as party planning goes, as Prickly Dad gently reminded me this morning ("umm ... honey ... maybe you can start thinking about Bug's birthday party this weekend ...")
Let me state this at the outset: I'm a very down-to-earth girl. I value and admire humility. I'm all about understated and heartfelt. I had ten guests at my wedding because pomp and circumstance and showiness just for pomp and circumstance and showiness's sake really irritates me (and for the record, my 10-guest wedding was my dream wedding). So you can understand why I'm not all that into the invite-the-whole-class-for-a-$500-party-every-single-year birthday rigamarole we've somehow gotten ourselves into.
I don't know how this happened.
Here's how birthdays went down when I was a kid. You'd wake up in the morning and go down to the kitchen where Mom and Dad would be having their morning coffee and getting ready for the day. There would be hugs and kisses and birthday wishes ... and a pile of presents on the kitchen table, which you'd get to open right away. Next you'd get ready for school, and on your way out the door, Mom would hand you a big metal pan of homemade brownies to pass out at school, where your teacher and the entire class would sing to you at snack time. After school, you'd come home, play with your new toys, and field phone calls from relatives. We'd have a special family dinner -- whatever the birthday kid had requested (in our house, it was usually roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, but I remember my sister requesting a processed turkey roll one year; another year I wanted to have a salad bar). After supper, grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles would come for ice cream and a home-made and -decorated cake. We were lucky enough to have three cousins who were the same age as my sisters and me, so there was always an instant party. A couple classmates would usually come over, too. You'd open more presents, goof around with the other kids, and then go to bed. The End. No frazzled nerves. No pretense or showiness. No hours of pre-planning. And certainly no $500.
The thing is, birthdays were somehow still special. I have wonderful memories of them to this day (my sisters, cousins, and our old friends from the neighborhood can be thankful that I don't have a way to digitize our old movies, because I'd totally be posting a circa-1978 Super-8 birthday movie clip right now). The key element, for me, at least, was that I always felt special for the whole day, and I knew everything that was done came from the hearts of the people who cared about me. My husband grew up in urban affluence, so I sometimes feel like he's not "getting" how such simple things still make a kid feel special. But they just do. We've incorporated balloons and streamers and Carvel ice cream cakes into the Prickly Family repertoire, but I still long to keep it simple, because it's something I truly value.
All right. Guess I'd better get planning.
Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party, hosted by Dirt and Boogers, Play Activities, Crayon Freckles, Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, Prickly Mom, and The Tao of Poop. The SPP is place for readers to find ideas on nurturing, educating, and caring for children, as well as honest posts about the stresses of being a parent or caregiver. Links to reviews and giveaways are welcome as long as they are relevant to the topic. All parenting philosophies are welcome with one exception: please do not link to posts promoting physical discipline, as this is something we would feel uncomfortable having on our blogs. (P.S. By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest, Sulia, G+ and FB friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on The Sunday Parenting Party Pinterest board.)
Here are some of my favorite submissions from last week:
Bug is going to turn six about six weeks from now, and I know I'm already totally behind the game as far as party planning goes, as Prickly Dad gently reminded me this morning ("umm ... honey ... maybe you can start thinking about Bug's birthday party this weekend ...")
Let me state this at the outset: I'm a very down-to-earth girl. I value and admire humility. I'm all about understated and heartfelt. I had ten guests at my wedding because pomp and circumstance and showiness just for pomp and circumstance and showiness's sake really irritates me (and for the record, my 10-guest wedding was my dream wedding). So you can understand why I'm not all that into the invite-the-whole-class-for-a-$500-party-every-single-year birthday rigamarole we've somehow gotten ourselves into.
 |
| Prickly Mom turns 11 |
I don't know how this happened.
Here's how birthdays went down when I was a kid. You'd wake up in the morning and go down to the kitchen where Mom and Dad would be having their morning coffee and getting ready for the day. There would be hugs and kisses and birthday wishes ... and a pile of presents on the kitchen table, which you'd get to open right away. Next you'd get ready for school, and on your way out the door, Mom would hand you a big metal pan of homemade brownies to pass out at school, where your teacher and the entire class would sing to you at snack time. After school, you'd come home, play with your new toys, and field phone calls from relatives. We'd have a special family dinner -- whatever the birthday kid had requested (in our house, it was usually roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, but I remember my sister requesting a processed turkey roll one year; another year I wanted to have a salad bar). After supper, grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles would come for ice cream and a home-made and -decorated cake. We were lucky enough to have three cousins who were the same age as my sisters and me, so there was always an instant party. A couple classmates would usually come over, too. You'd open more presents, goof around with the other kids, and then go to bed. The End. No frazzled nerves. No pretense or showiness. No hours of pre-planning. And certainly no $500.
The thing is, birthdays were somehow still special. I have wonderful memories of them to this day (my sisters, cousins, and our old friends from the neighborhood can be thankful that I don't have a way to digitize our old movies, because I'd totally be posting a circa-1978 Super-8 birthday movie clip right now). The key element, for me, at least, was that I always felt special for the whole day, and I knew everything that was done came from the hearts of the people who cared about me. My husband grew up in urban affluence, so I sometimes feel like he's not "getting" how such simple things still make a kid feel special. But they just do. We've incorporated balloons and streamers and Carvel ice cream cakes into the Prickly Family repertoire, but I still long to keep it simple, because it's something I truly value.
All right. Guess I'd better get planning.
Welcome to The Sunday Parenting Party, hosted by Dirt and Boogers, Play Activities, Crayon Freckles, Taming the Goblin, The Golden Gleam, Prickly Mom, and The Tao of Poop. The SPP is place for readers to find ideas on nurturing, educating, and caring for children, as well as honest posts about the stresses of being a parent or caregiver. Links to reviews and giveaways are welcome as long as they are relevant to the topic. All parenting philosophies are welcome with one exception: please do not link to posts promoting physical discipline, as this is something we would feel uncomfortable having on our blogs. (P.S. By linking up you agree that your post and photos are Pinterest, Sulia, G+ and FB friendly. We will be showcasing ideas on The Sunday Parenting Party Pinterest board.)Here are some of my favorite submissions from last week:
- Do Not Fear Paint (Little Moments)
- Shaping Our Children's Character: How Much Is Too Much? (Mommy for Real)
- The Mommy Wars, Part Whatever (The Habitat of Meeshie)
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
13 Projects for 2013
Even though the boys are out of town with their grandparents and Prickly Dad and I are free to do whatever we want (within reason, that is), we stayed home last night and watched the Twilight Zone marathon (a Prickly Mom tradition that has been going on since at least 2001). So we were up and at 'em early this morning: I'm blogging, and Prickly Dad is over at Home Depot, pressing his face against the glass, waiting for them to unlock the doors.
I've decided against making "normal" resolutions this year, namely, "exercise more" and such-like. I'd like to think that would happen organically, and if it does, wonderful. I'm more concerned about continuing my work on last year's resolution to yell at my kids less. I hate to say I'm still yelling, but I have made tremendous progress on this goal. It's so important to me that I'm going to carry it over to 2013.
So today, I've decided to compile the "13 Projects for 2013": a baker's dozen of tasks, big and small, that I've been meaning to do and would improve my life in some way. Since I actually want to check some of these things off the list this week and even today, I'm going to try to keep it going by adding new items so there are always 13. Let's make it a lucky number!
Monday, December 24, 2012
It's the Hand of Christmas!
(...you have to say that is a low, ominous-yet-goofy voice...)
I have a crafty aunt who has made many of the cherished ornaments I hang on the tree each year. Her creations are fabulous--my all-time favorites include an angel made from various macaroni shapes hot-glued together and an elf with a jingle-bell for an abdomen.
As one would expect, considering the sheer number of different ornaments my aunt has crafted through the years, there have been some duds. And in our house, the most famous dud of all is...the Hand of Christmas!
It's a knit white winter glove stuffed with poly-fill and decorated with felt and other doodads to look like Santa. As far as ornaments go, it's huge. Too huge for any Christmas tree that I'll ever have.
But of course, the boys loved it, and thus it has inadvertently become the centerpiece of a Prickly Family holiday tradition. When Bug hung it on the tree a couple years ago (when he was three), I plucked it off and started chasing him around the house with it, declaring, "oooooooo! It's the Hand of Christmas!" (and of course, the object of the game it to get away from it and avoid a fluffy love-spank!)
This year, Bug is constantly begging me to play (so much so that I'm actually looking forward to taking the tree down so I can pack the Hand of Christmas away until next year). I'm not usually a fan of chasing games, but my little guys love this one so much that I feel like I have to give in and play a few times a day.
'Tis the season to be silly with the kids, right? Merry Christmas!
I have a crafty aunt who has made many of the cherished ornaments I hang on the tree each year. Her creations are fabulous--my all-time favorites include an angel made from various macaroni shapes hot-glued together and an elf with a jingle-bell for an abdomen.
As one would expect, considering the sheer number of different ornaments my aunt has crafted through the years, there have been some duds. And in our house, the most famous dud of all is...the Hand of Christmas!
It's a knit white winter glove stuffed with poly-fill and decorated with felt and other doodads to look like Santa. As far as ornaments go, it's huge. Too huge for any Christmas tree that I'll ever have.
But of course, the boys loved it, and thus it has inadvertently become the centerpiece of a Prickly Family holiday tradition. When Bug hung it on the tree a couple years ago (when he was three), I plucked it off and started chasing him around the house with it, declaring, "oooooooo! It's the Hand of Christmas!" (and of course, the object of the game it to get away from it and avoid a fluffy love-spank!)
This year, Bug is constantly begging me to play (so much so that I'm actually looking forward to taking the tree down so I can pack the Hand of Christmas away until next year). I'm not usually a fan of chasing games, but my little guys love this one so much that I feel like I have to give in and play a few times a day.
'Tis the season to be silly with the kids, right? Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Christmas Cards Ordered: Check!
Merry Christmas from the Prickly Family | Prickly Mom, Prickly Dad, Bug & Pie
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Dyngus Day for Kids (What? No Alcohol?)
I was born and raised in the Buffalo, NY area, and am half Polish, so I grew up celebrating Dyngus Day (well, at least being cognizant of it). This holiday, apparently, is unknown (and bizarre-sounding) to the rest of the country (with the exception of Michigan and possibly Cleveland). I guess you could call it the Polish-American St. Patrick's Day. In Western New York, which boasts the biggest Dyngus Day celebration in the country, party-goers show off their Warsaw Falcon tattoos and drink until they puke. And you wonder: why in the world would anybody want to celebrate this with their kids? Well, in my case, the Easter season is one of the only times I celebrate my Polish heritage, which I would like to pass on to the boys.
When you get down to it, Dyngus Day, or Easter Monday, has historically been a day in Poland for the faithful to let their hair down after the solemnity and fasting of Lent and Easter weekend. In the "old country," girls traditionally chase and swat their sweethearts with pussy willows, while the boys retaliate by dumping buckets of water on the swatters.
Unfortunately, it's too cold and windy here today to celebrate properly...but here are some ideas for celebrating with preschoolers:
- Pussy Willow Tag: (You can usually find them at a florist shop or in the floral department of the grocery store.) The child who is "It" tags the others by touching them with a pussy willow. I'd recommend playing the variation of tag in which there are multiple "Its" (each kid who is tagged gets his own pussy willow and becomes another "It") so that evryone has a pussy willow by the end of the game.
- The Ol' Run-n-Squirt: My boys, at least, would be content simply chasing each other around the yard with squirt guns (in fact, Mommy and Daddy love to join in). Give each kid her own water gun and let 'em loose. I usually provide a big soup-pot of water for easy refills: just submerge the squirt gun until all the bubbles come to the surface.
- Learn to Polka: Watch some basic how-to videos (here's what I found on YouTube) and dance with the kids. Or, something I think would be more fun, would be to cut out some paper footprints and tape them to the floor/ground and let the children try to do the steps in order (you could write numbers on the footprints). Check out this Web page for a Polka tutorial complete with footprints.
- Music: As far as what to Polka to, there's actually a song about Dyngus Day (buy the "Everybody's Polish on Dyngus Day" mp3 or search for other polkas). If polka music is just too crazy for your taste, play some Chopin. He was Polish.
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