Bookworms

Rainy days can be pretty boring when you are stuck in the house all day. This morning the girls played dress up together and when things got quite, I took a peek and the girls were reading books together. So sweet! For being stuck in the house all day, the girls played real well together today! I had fun snapping pictures of them reading and then playing with the photos in photoshop during nap time...

Must Have Monday

This week I found these cool Melissa and Doug Write-A-Mats. They feel and look like a place mat and you can use crayons or a No. 2 pencil to draw on them. We used crayons and they came right off with a wet dish towel. We tested it out in the store and used a pencil and you can erase it like you would regular paper.

The Alphabet mat has both upper and lower case letters on one side and upper and lower case cursive on the other side. It has a place for the kids to trace the letters with arrows showing them which way to go and then a place to write the letters on their own. The Number mat is cool cause it goes all the way to 100. I have been looking for lined paper for Isabelle to practice her letters on, but I like these better, they are sturdy and reusable and the best part, they were $2.00 each.

Both girls love them, Calista of course wants to do anything big sis does, no matter what it is!

Here is Issy hard at work! She even got creative later and used a different color for each letter...

Being shy...

I think we have another right-hander....

Your Love Is My Greatest Treasure!

I asked Freddie to take some photos of the girls and I today. I don't always get in the photos cause I am the one taking them 95% of the time. We had a great day the girls and I and since everyone was in good moods I thought it would be a fun day to capture this season on film. I set up the camera for Freddie and he clicked away, he did an awesome job! I think it is time we get him a camera and he can be my side kick!

Reading is a big part of our day. It is one of my very favorite things to do with the girls. So I thought it would be fun if we could incorporate that into our photos today. I think I am going to start reading chapter books with Isabelle. Any other Mom's or Dad's doing that with your kids? Just wondering if it is to early for a 4 1/2 year old. Any books you might recommend we start with?

I adore these photos of Issy and I.

Here is a photo I grabbed tonight and thought I would share it with you, I love these flowers, or weeds...

Will You Be Our Valentine?

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend!

XOXO Freddie, DeAnna, Isabelle & Calista!!

This year we made bookmarks as our Valentine card.

We wanted to do something that was practical and useful

and since we love to read in our house, what better than a bookmark.

Here is a picture of the front and the back of our Valentine bookmark.

Homemade Play Doh

My friend Tennielle brought over an awesome homemade play doh recipe for us to try. She knows I am not a fan of Play Doh brand play doh, I hate the smell. I have tried making play doh before but it never came out right. The new recipe is awesome!! It is so easy to make and the texture is JUST right, and it smells so good cause you make it with a packet of Kool Aid. The kids all loved it too! Check out the recipe below and try it for yourself!

Kool Aid Play Doh
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Water
½ Cup Salt
3 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar
1 Pkg Kool Aid unsweetened
1 Tablespoon olive oil (or cooking oil)

Mix dry ingredients together in large sauce pan. Slowly add water mixed with oil. Stir over medium heat until mixture thickens to dough. Turn onto cutting board and knead until cool. Store in air tight container for up to six months.

We used orange Kool Aid so the play doh came out orange and smelled like oranges.

School Valentine's

Valentine's Day is so much fun! I love making special photo valentine's for our friends and family and mailing them each year. There is something about getting a special little treat in the mail that brings a smile to my face. This year is Isabelle's very first year of exchanging Valentine's with her friends at school. I was excited when her teacher told us a few weeks ago that the kids will be having a special Valentine's exchange. I asked Isabelle if we could make them together and had her help me pick a photo that I have taken, since I took a ton of heart pictures this year for my heart project. She picked the colored pencil heart and we talked about lots of things we wanted it to say, the next thing we knew we had a very special valentine card! This morning she stuffed her Valentine's and put stickers on them and they are ready to go for her party tomorrow!

Here is the front of her Valentine...

and the back of her Valentine...

Calista 18 Months Old

Tomorrow Calista will be a year and a half! Where has the time gone?

Yesterday I took a few pictures of Calista and decided it would be fun to take photos of her with her favorite thing right now. SHOES! It is one of the few words she says crystal clear, when she says shoes, you know exactly what she is saying. She loves to walk around in her dress up shoes, but she loves to play with my shoes even more.

She had a blast playing in my shoes and I just love these photos. I took tons more, but these two were my favorites! I didn't realize at the time that puppy made it into the photos, but I kind of like it!

I wonder who loves shoes more, me or her?