We have been so very busy with house projects and travel lately. Summers really are insane in New England. Everyone squeezes as much into these few months as possible since the weather is so wonderful this time of year. We are no different than all of the other families around here. August looks just as busy as June and July have been. I am glad that we are having so much fun and getting tons of projects finished. Will we ever slow down, though??

We are continuing to prepare for the arrival of the Tooth Fairy even though no one has a loose tooth yet. It never hurts to be prepared, I suppose.

At the library I found a great Tooth Fairy book by accident – Tooth Fairy’s First Night (Carolrhoda Picture Books). The girl in the book does not believe that the Tooth Fairy exists so she sets up a hunt complete with clues to make the TF find her tooth. Then the TF sets up a hunt for the girl to find her treasure. I wonder if out Tooth Fairy will do the same for us… It would be fun to write letters to the Tooth Fairy and to read her responses.

Every kid needs a place to put a lost tooth so the TF can find it. While we were shopping at a local arts and crafts store today, the gilrs picked out two heart shaped, wooden boxes. This afternoon they decorated their boxes. They were so funny talking about having loose teeth while they were painting. The excitement is building!

We have researched the Tooth Fairy pretty extensively now. Plus we have a place to put the lost teeth. We are ready for a tooth to fall out a moment’s notice! Who is more excited about the Tooth Fairy – me or the kids? I’m hoping that her much anticipated arrival lives up to their expectations.

Photo courtesy of Robert S. Donovan

My sweet 5 year old has discovered the Tooth Fairy. A good friend of hers recently lost a tooth, and someone at Vacation Bible School told her about her experience with the Tooth Fairy. There has been a lot of excitement about teeth that might be loose. It has also spurred some questions about this mysterious character. Today C5 wanted to know where the Tooth Fairy lives. I avoided the question because I just didn’t have a good answer for her. I don’t remember ever asking my folks about that. Was I really not that curious as a child? Why is it always my kid who needs to know all of the details about something when she gets interested in it?

I did some research for my inquisitive child. Now I am armed with answers! (Oh, I found out that the TF lives in Tooth Fairyland in the sky, of course!)Maybe you haven’t had the pleasure of preparing for the Tooth Fairy to visit your home yet, so hopefully you will benefit from what I found out.

~ A good friend told me that the Tooth Fairy always left a letter with the cash reward for her daughter. You can find all kinds of letters at this Squidoo page.

~ There are many books out there about the Tooth Fairy. Some even include folklore from other cultures about her.

~ Many parents online recommend that you think about how much money the TF will bring because your child will expect the same thing every time the Tooth Fairy comes. It seems that the going rate is $1, but many TF’s bring coins instead of paper bills.

~ I have a friend whose TF brings a little gift such as brightly colored floss along with the cash. What a great way to promote oral hygeine!

~ Many of your Tooth Fairy questions can be answered at Write the Toothfairy.

Just think of the Tooth Fairy as another opportunity to celebrate the magic of childhood and make memories with your children!

This is the first summer that we are sending C5 to camp. A friend of hers has offered a great deal to join her at the dance camp that she enrolled in. We had to do it when we found out that many of her buddies would be at that camp, too. I am excited that she will see her friends for a whole week and get a chance to try out all sorts of styles of dance without making a commitment to any one in particular.

She ended up LOVING her first day, but drop off was a disaster. She clung to me and cried, begging me to stay with her. I asked the director to just take her from me since I knew she would be fine if I left the room. Of course, she stopped crying as soon as I was out of ear shot, and she did great the whole time. Tomorrow will go better because Papa is dropping her off. I’ll keep you posted on how the week is going!

In my post, Set a Wellness Goal, I had encouraged my readers to get on the fitness bandwagon with me. No one responded to that post with their own fitness goals. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been able to reach my wellness goal. This winter was long and hard on me and the kids.

If at first you don’t succeed, try again!

I am going to try setting a new goal. My kids are both taking swimming lessons, so I am going to take them to the Open Swim at the YMCA a couple of days a week. (I know that I really need to  get a good workout, but sometimes I have to start small in order to get started at all.) They need the practice, and I like the pool. I have taken them to Open Swim once and found that I actually get the same endorphin high that I normally get when I workout. I must be getting some benefit from being in that pool with them. I think that I will be more motivated to go because I can do this particular activity with my kids. I might just feel inspired to squeeze a workout in, too!

Are you willing to try again and set a new fitness goal? Let me know what your plans are. Inspire me!

Photo courtesy of whiskymac

We had an amazing Tinker Bell party today. My birthday girl had a great time making memories with all of  her buddies. What  a fabulous hostess my kiddo has turned out to be! She made sure to introduce all of her friends to each other and greeted kids as they arrived. I was impressed.

We were able to have the party outside because the weather was gorgeous. (Thank you, Lord!) That gave us more flexibility with the games. This is what I ended up doing.

~The fairy wings were a big hit with the kids, but didn’t take as long to decorate as I thought they would. They are really cute, though.

~We had a Fairy Treasure Hunt. I included a list of  hunt items: Pink Pixie Dust (glittery sugar), a Silver Wand, a Silver Fairy Crown, Fairy Gold, & Bubbles. This activity was a favorite. The kids were even helping each other find things.  They were very excited about their treasures.

~I had planned on reading a story to the kids, but at the last minute I decided to use a puppet. I have to say that they LOVED the puppet, especially my own kids. If you ever have the opportunity to use puppets with preschool aged children, I recommend doing it. They are captivated by it and even talk to the puppet.

~I had the kids put on their wings and crowns and get their wands before we played games. They all needed a lot of help getting their things organized, so I’m glad there were moms there to help. We ended up playing:

• Fairy Freeze Tag – The child is “it” tags the other kids with her fairy wand. In order to become “unfrozen” the child had to clap her hands and say, “I believe” ten times.  The kids took turns being “it”.
• Follow the Leader – I started out being the leader and had the kids take turns being the leader. They loved being in the spotlight!
• Fairy, Fairy, Tink – This is Duck, Duck, Goose. The child who was “it” used her wand to tap the other kids on the head.
• Fairy Freeze Dance – We used the sound track from the Tinker Bell movie for our music.

~We took off our fairy things and washed up in order to have cake! I gave the children cupcakes and glittery, colored sugar for decorating. (I also made a cute Tinker Bell cake.)

It was a fun party that I think my birthday girl will remember! This is what being a mom is all about.

Photo courtesy of The 5th Ape

Glitterfy.com – Glitter Graphics

I am a crafty and creative gal, so I love planning our kids’ birthday parties! It brings me back to being a child. I LOVE pretend and magic and all things that make a kid’s party fun. I bake the cake and try to make it special for my kiddos. Last year C4 said, “That is the prettiest pony cake ever, Mommy!” It melted my heart!

This year C4 is turning 5, and she wants a Tinker Bell party. I have been thinking lots about this theme. I watched many Peter Pan videos, read the lyrics for songs, and even visited the Disney Tinker Bell web site. I’ve researched Tinker Bell party games and decided which ones we are going to play. I watched a few how to videos on making fairy wings for our craft. You might like the wings craft found on Kids Craft Weekly or the one found on About.Com I even made my own invitation today. Whew! I have been a busy mommy today.

The goal is to throw a really fun party with an extremely small budget. I am being quite savvy here. The craft uses recycled materials: wire hangers & old nylons. The games require some edible glitter, music, bubbles and imagination. One of the activities involves the children putting together their own goody bags with items they search for on a fairy scavenger hunt. I decided to have the party from 2-5 in order to avoid feeding a crowd a meal. I will simply serve snacks, cake, and juice.

Now I have to get the guest list down to a reasonable number. C4 has 19 children on the list including her sister and herself. We’re having this shindig in our backyard (and inside if it pours) so I want a reasonable number. It may take some negotiation, but I think I can be persuasive!

I am excited about the party! I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Photo by singsing_sky

This is a revised version of a post that originally appeared in my sister blog, Homeschooling Coach. Please visit that blog for homeschooling tips & curriculum ideas as well as stories about the joys & trials of home education.

This is such a busy time of year. You are doing a lot right now with the holidays upon us. Do you find that it is difficult to find time for your spouse? It is so hard to do it all, and often times something has to give. I encourage you to consider a few ways to stay connected with your spouse even when it seems like there is no time.

Photo by Sammis Co

1. Have dessert or tea together after the children are in bed. This is your time to reconnect and discuss the day. It is a great stress reliever, too. The only rule is that you cannot do anything else like watch TV. It also only needs to take 5-10 minutes of your evening.
2. Leave each other love notes. You can leave a note in your hubby’s brief case telling him how much you love him, or leave a note in his car to tell him that you are thinking about him. Send him an e-mail to say, “I love you.” It means a lot when you take a moment out of your day to remind your hubby that he is special to you.
3. Choose a date night. You don’t have to spend a lot of money or even go anywhere fancy. The only thing that matters is that you are together. You can even have your date at home if you have to.
4. Laugh together. Tickle each other. Tell jokes. Watch a funny TV show. Get silly. Laughter is a great way to deal with stress!
5. Reminisce. Rekindling those memories helps you to feel the same way you did way back when. Look through a photo album or remind each other of stories from when you were dating.
6. Do something unexpected for your spouse. Meet your hubby at the door with a long, passionate kiss. Make a special meal for your husband. Watch the football game with him. Meet him at work for a picnic lunch. It is fun to think of the possibilities!
7. Give your hubby a back rub. It doesn’t take long, but he will feel more relaxed and grateful for the gesture!
8. Dance together in the middle of your living room. Play the song that you danced to on your wedding day or a song that is meaningful to both of you. Turn down the lights and enjoy being close.
9. Listen to a book on cd together. You both can do other things while the book is playing (like laundry and dishes), but you will have a book that you can both talk about. Choose something that is fun and interesting for both of you.
10. Pray together. This can be intimidating if you don’t usually do it. Make it a short time of prayer to start and make the prayer about praises. As you both get more comfortable, you can pray longer and about more intimate requests. You will find it amazing!

What are some ways that you and your spouse connect when you are busy?