StarrGazing

Tonight we are going for a meet and greet meeting for astronomy at Bow Bench Retreat here in Carseland, it's the same place Momma goes knitting on Wednesday nights.

Stargazing is always something I've wanted to share with our little Starr and something I've missed doing in the past few years. There's so many online resources to make stargazing fun for kids and adults.

First, I remembered the RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada) and their wonderful guides and certificate programs and quickly printed off the Explore the Universe paperwork. 
 "A challenging program for the new astronomer covering all major astronomical objects including constellations, bright stars, the Moon, Deep Sky Objects, and Double Stars. Suitable for both binoculars and telescopes".

Here is a summary of the Explore the Universe program requirements:

Observing Objective	Required	Available
Constellations and Bright Stars	12	24
The Moon	16	32
Solar System	5	10
Deep Sky Objects	12	24
Double Stars	10	20
Total	55	110

Astronomy can be overwhelming to start and this program gives a great into and a bit of a structure to start exploring and learning! Mark and I had started this a few years back, but I lost our copy with our records, no big whoop to start over I figure.

I went looking online for fun kid things to do and found Nasa's The Space Place. I printed off the instructions and template to make a Star Finder and found a constellation pattern template, which I printed out, traced the Ursa Major disc onto heavy cardstock (I used old cereal boxes), and punched holes in. Tonight we can shine a flash light and put the pattern in the light to project Ursa Major onto the wall. I was so happy when I realized the Explore the Universe Guide and the constellation pattern template seemed to match up well. For the adults I printed off information sheets from a constellation guide and from starryskies.com about the Ursa Major Constellation. I figured it was a good place to start. Now my creative juices are flowing and I'm thinking a short fun book containing the Ursa Major disc would be even more fun, nothing online, it may mean I make one myself! (add it to the "books I'd love to write" category beside pictorial cookbooks for kids).



Oh, my mind is working overtime and the clock is ticking. I'm going to go see if I can quickly write a short story based on the big ole bear's story.....

A new friend

Sorry to leave you all hanging, I've been helping get the local Preschool up and running and what started as simply signing papers to be on the board of directors because it was needed for paperwork has turned into more.. more meetings, more fundraisers..more work. But it's all for a good reason and it's nice to get involved and make a difference in our community and for Ali.

A wonderful lady from knitting nights surprised us with a package for Ali. She didn't get to see Ali open it so I videotaped it when I got home. 
 

Three rainy days...three really long cold rainy days

Ali and I don't know what to do with ourselves. We went to the store, played outside with "brellas and boots" for a bit and now we're back inside drying off.

Last week Ali showed that perhaps floral design isn't what she wants to do with her life. Someone picked and gave her a flower last week. We came home and put it in water....

 Then the next day, Ali picked a flower for me!

 But, then, she made a kinda cute wild flower, dirty washer arrangement. Maybe there's still hope.  LOL

Fail or Win?

Some days I just don't know.

Today was strangely temper tantrum after temper tantrum, no nap, thrown bottles, kicking Momma, throwing Minnie... poor Minnie ended up in the garbage (but don't tell Ali, I fished her back out again), a sippy cup thrown and exploding on the floor and rug...

I guess I should change my thinking and consider it a win, since it lead to a few focused chats after crying through time outs. It's a new concept for Ali, I've not really had to resort to it before. During our chats she told me for the first time she loves me "so much". It was really cute, and worked... the first time.

Thank God for fellow Moms who get it and go through the same days and are brave enough to be honest. It's all a part of it, just not the part that you think of when you romanticize rearing children, or the part commonly talked about aloud in public, which is really too bad. I don't think it makes a bad parent or bad child at all and I think there's such a stigma placed on discipline and challenges that it's tough to get through and not want to hide it. Well, I'm not hiding it!

Today was a polar opposite from yesterday's excursion to the opened Clubhouse where we happily shared (well, I got the soggy english muffin) a coffee/juice and egg sandwich for breakfast.

The Ryder Beyond Basics Potty Training Technique

Two things occured to me today:

1. I'm turning into a passive aggressive potty training Momma. Not a technique you'll likely see online but one that seems to suit our situation. You see, we've followed most of the online tips to a tee (a treat, watching Momma, leaving pants off for a few days, drinking extra) and she's great at running to the toilet when it's her and I and not much is going on, but sometimes she's... well... lazy. I don't want to reprimand her and have her regress into wanting a diaper all the time, so I let her go diaper-less (that part she loves) until she gets lazy and piddles on the floor, chair, couch. heating vent (yes, it's really happened)..etc. She's usually really good until she's too much into playing or it's Daddy time, those are the times she's more apt to ignore the signs and go-go-go until she goes right where she is. My answer, I let her remain without a diaper until the point in the day when she piddles on my floor, then it's diaper time for the remaining part of the day. 
2. I don't like pictures of Ali sleeping, honestly, they kinda creep me out. 

A Facebook friend shared blog today, I was totally into it. It shows that all kids cry and even makes it somewhat less stressful, specially for me, the sound of Ali crying irritates me and I just want it to stop, but all kids cry, it's part of coping and learning and developing. I'm thinking it's one smart coping mechanism for a parent! It's called Reasons My Son Is Crying. Good stuff people, right there! Really, click the link! 

Think you got it all figured out? Surprise!!!

Other parents always warned me, just when you think you have a handle on things and habits... they change. I appreciate the warning but maybe they should've been a little more selfish about telling me the ripple effect. I didn't realize I was such a creature of habit until Alexiss came along. This week we're on again/off again napping and it's making me absolutely crazy! Mind you, the no nap time usually means poop time.. and sometimes that's more of a break... she takes a long time and is content hanging out in the bathroom with books or the iPad. Today after making peace with the fact that a nap wasn't going to happen...I'm content trying to catch up on dishes. I really need to learn to just go with the flow... being a parent would be so much easier. I do try to remember and respect that she's an individual with thoughts, wants and desires instead of a "mini-me" happy to tag along and do what I want her to.

This past week I was talking to another Mom about "when our kids grow up", it started with her saying that her daughter is creative but also very smart. Being creative and artsy doesn't really cover the bills like, say, being a Dr. I just hope when our time comes, I have the love and strength to let Ali be her and be who she wants be.. and just be happy for her. She does love to create, she loves music, she's smart and mechanically inclined, she's active and has been kicking a soccer ball since before she could walk.

On a good focused day, Alexiss surprised me with a well thought out intended drawing (above) of her going for a walk. I was mesmerized at how good it was. See.. when she takes a nap and eats well, she can do anything.. now that brings me back to nap time or lack thereof... *sigh*

We went into the community hall for the town's Easter do. Alexiss may have gotten the concept of finding eggs and candy, but was distracted by the play ground equipment. We were the last ones to leave! During the breakfast, sermon and kid's group I was overwhelmed at how well behaved Ali is. Then we regrouped and off she went exploring with Dad, it was too sweet not to get a video of.

Here's a common sight, bunny ears (pig-tails) in disarray, no pants and stuff strewn around her. She was having fun unpacking an Easter parcel from Oma...and dontcha know, she had to try on all the clothes... at once!

 

Puddle Season is definitley NOT Potty Season!

One word of potty training advice I've NEVER seen mentioned.. ANYWHERE! 

If it's puddle-season... maybe it's best to wait a bit. Wet cold pants from puddles just make warm wet pants inside seem less of a show stopper and less of a motivational tool. Do they really stop to think of the source? if it's just cold puddle water or pee? I think not. 

I'm serious, the impact just doesn't have the same weight. We had a few great days last week and then as the warm weather and puddles appeared... so did the puddles on my carpet, the tile floor, the chairs. And I witnessed for myself that those indoor puddles are not made of the same stuff as the outdoor puddles, it is NOT sloshy boots being upturned to dry out.

So potty training is again on hold temporarily. Oh, she still has fun peeing on the toilet during each diaper change, I'm just not brave enough to give her time between diapers without the looming thought and anxiety about those indoor puddles!