Printable Preschool/Toddler Activities

I found a link to a post about bugs on Money Saving Mom today that was too amazing to not pass along.

I'm printing the one relating to bugs since both girls seem to be enthralled by these little critters at the moment.  They are really well done, colorful, and free!

You can find them at 3 Dinosaurs.

Enjoy!

Pouring My Brain Out

Do you remember taking a test in high school or college and studying really hard then pouring your brain out with all the information that you could on the test?  Or researching for a paper all semester then sitting down to write it and having trouble making sure all the important stuff is in there?  Has anyone else felt this way?

I'm beginning to feel like this and its been a while since I've had to take a test or write a paper!  As we prepare for the arrive of our third child, I'm trying to train the family members that will be taking the girls when I go into labor as well as those that will take the girls for a long weekend camp at "Grandma and Grandpa's."  The amount of things to think about for caring for Marian for more than a few hours is mind boggling.  I'm not sure what is important and what is something only Mark and I need to focus on because what if...  Ahhh gotta love worries and fears.  If I was honest Marian would probably be just as happy telling everyone else how to care for her than for her mom to write instruction sheets for how to do it ;)  I guess I can be grateful for a very independent 3 year old!

If anyone wants some of the items I've found useful online here are the links:
My Child Has Diabetes-Childcare Checklist
JDRF- Emergency Checklist

I've made a bunch of checklists and instruction sheets, if anyone would find them helpful I'm happy to email them to you! 

Off to keep packing because we leave in 2 hours!  (That means I probably shouldn't be typing a blog entry).

Gratituesday- Music

I haven't done a post about something I'm grateful for in a while.  This morning I'm grateful for music.  Both my girls sing all....the...time.  I can't say I get tired of it.  They sing quite a variety too, kids songs, Bible songs, hymns, and songs of their own creation.  I had read somewhere when Marian was a baby that having music in the home helps everyone to keep a joyful attitude and it helps to show kids your joy in Christ when you're expressing it through song while working.  Now, my singing is NOT something that most people enjoy, however, I do enjoy singing, I just need some assistance from those more musically talented.  I'm grateful at how much Truth our kids have soaked up through music.  It's amazing.  I've also loved seeing them express their love towards babies through singing.  Their baby dolls are always getting sung too.  Their little brother while in-utero has has quite a few songs sung to him as well.  Sofia sings "Jesus Loves Me" to her baby brother at least a few times a week.  While she sings, she holds my belly.  This morning as she sang the baby kicked.

Sofia "holding" her baby brother.



  Picture by Photography by Susie.

Don't Stand Near Me

Tonight I had a bit of a mix-up with my youngest and oldest.  We arrived home way past bedtime and I was trying to get the girls ready for bed quickly.  We walked into the house I said "Marian let me test your blood sugar" for probably the millionth time.  I sit down to test her with both girls standing around me.  For some reason Sofia had her little finger out too so I grabbed it and pricked her with the lancet (little device that pricks the finger to draw blood for a glucose reading).  Needless to say the scream and look of confusion on her face brought me to my senses and made us laugh pretty hard.  It took a while for Sofia to get over the shock of what just happened to her, but thankfully she survived.  My guess is she will not stick her finger out anywhere near me anymore.  This is also a warning to anyone else that might be brave enough to stand near me when I have a lancet in my hand.