Veterans' Day

To Honor & learn about those who served, this Veterans Day, we ventured to Mobile, AL to see the USS Alabama.

The USS Alabama is at a Battleship Memorial Park which is also home to the USS Drum and several military aircraft.

I haven't been on very many ships turned museums, the only other being the USS Constitution in Boston. (Where you can't.touch.anything.) So I found it pretty cool that you were able to sit & stand at the guns on USS Alabama. Personally, I would have been peeing my pants seeing this thing pointed towards me with all it's guns blazing.

However, the coolness factor ended when you could actually climb inside the BIG guns.

(Truthfully, it never occurred to me that someone had to be IN there to work the guns. I thought someone pushed  a button elsewhere.)

This would be Tyson, taking my little precious baby into the gun turret. I went in, for approximately 15 seconds. I freaked out, got short of breath, couldn't open my eyes and left faster than you could imagine. I was genuinely interested in seeing in there. But, I'm woman enough to admit that I had goosepumps and this place was seriously haunted; I couldn't be in there.

Turns out, I was right.

It didn't help that I spent the entire time we were on the ship nervous that G was going to jump off the edge. I realize this is an old battleship, but couldn't we put an extra railing around the outside for safety of the wee ones?

On to happier times, we wandered through a large hanger. I didn't snap many pictures in there, because I think military planes are flipping cool. I did take a picture of an old jeep, because seeing it made Tyson giddy.

Next stop was the USS Drum. I wasn't sure how I'd do in the sub, after the turret incident. It turned out to be pretty cool.

None of these museums are federally or tax-payer funded. The Drum was rehabbed with donations through a local Submarine Vet group. Some of these Vets were on the sub and it was nice to see them. Tyson was able to chat with some fellow sailors, one of whom even served on one of the same carriers Tyson had.

Here is one of the torpedo rooms.

Pick a rack & get comfy kid!

This view is from the desk of the USS Drum, you can see a handful of the planes on display.

It turned out to be a beautiful day, and a great way to remember those who served. I hope we are able to continue visiting places like for many Veterans Days to come.

Tot School: Green & Leaves

G is 19 Months Old
This weeks theme: Leaves, Fall & Green
(because it's just now starting to feel like fall here - and even then most the leaves are still green.)

It is getting more & more difficult to take pictures during tot school activities. As G is getting used to the routine of tot school, she likes me to be more involved. Coloring with her, doing the projects with her. Which is great, I love it. But if I stop for 2 seconds to take a picture things will start ending up on the ground. She's quick. But here is what I WAS able to capture this week.

Activities at Home

She received a new toy from one of her Grandma's. She loves this thing.

She's gotten pretty good at it too.

I don't usually let her take out her bucket of tot school 'toys' and just go buck wild. One day she insisted and this is the mess than ensued.

We put leaves on the tree, using this printable from 2 Teaching Mommies Leaves Unit.

We tried leaf rubbing, with some leaves we gathered earlier in the week during a walk.

But it just turned into a coloring session...

In fact, most things just turned into a coloring session. Hey, the girl knows what she likes!

The leaf & scarecrow sheets are ones we received during a previous visit to Excel by 5.

New Words

Me - Probably because her favorite book this week has been Incredible Me. (I love the book too!)

My personal favorite - 'Goooo Giants!'

Mommie's Favorite Photo

There's nothing spectacular about this shot, just my little girl's first time Trick or Treating...and she LOVED it. So much so, the next morning I had to explain we can only go door to door to get candy one night a year.

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Pinterest Creations: October Edition

It's sweeping the nation - and I got swept up into it too. Actually, Pinterest was a dream come true for me. I used to keep projects I wanted to try or ideas for my future home on a multi-page spreadsheet. Well I just deleted the last page, thanks to Pinterest. I'm visual...and now I get a picture, not just a link. For proof that this system works better for me, I actually CREATED some of things I've had marked down. (Of course.....having more time at home vs when I was working full time has absolutely NOTHING to do with it.)

Here's what I made, via Pinterest, in October:

First up - after the applesauce disaster of 2011, I was still in desperate need of some apple comfort. So I got bold and tried this Apple Cake with Vanilla Carmel Sauce.

Mine didn't end up as pretty as hers, but I'm pretty sure it tasted as good...if not better.

Satisfaction tastes pretty good.

Plus mine was served on a Mickey Mouse pizza plate. Really, what beats that?

Now, onto the Halloween fun. I was not allowed the privilege of bringing down my 6 boxes of Christmas decorations, 2 boxes of Thanksgiving decorations or  1 box of Halloween decorations. So if I want this place to be festive...I need to make it.

First up were these Bleeding Candles. This was on my "Must Do ASAP" list long before Pinterest came along.

However, don't be like me and buy cheap candles from the dollar store. Because their candles are actually white, therefore ruining the whole idea. These were only burned once so I didn't lose the effect. Next year I'll get *real* red candles and do it again...the right way.

These Spider Sacks were a lot more frustrating to make than I anticipated them being. But I like how they came out. So, much like giving birth, I will forget the discomfort & aggravation and do it again next year.

Last but not least...Halloween Dinner. Mummys. Yummy.

My Mummy has red eyes, not yellow...cause we're a ketchup household.



I have more stuff planned for November. So I'll see ya next time I want to gloat about my semi-creativity!

Oddly enough - I found this image on Pinterest too! You can find the original here.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: The view from my kitchen sink

Would you like a closer look...

Don't we all have days like this, sitting in traffic?

Tot School: Halloween!!

This weeks Theme: Orange, Black & Pumpkins
G is 19 Months Old

This Week

G has been cuddly, cranky, whiny & all the other things that come along with 2 year molars cutting through. (Or trying to!) She hasn't been sleeping well - which means Mommy hasn't been sleeping well. This morning I woke up to my alarm & realized that she didn't wake up. I did the "full nights sleep" jig - something I haven't done for probably a year. I've also officially decided that watching your 1 year old have to deal with the pain & discomfort of cutting molars is worse than labor. That was over in 18 hours. This is taking FOREVER. Poor Munchkin.
This was pretty much my long explanation for - we didn't do a lot this week. I did take some activities out here & there and managed to get a few pictures, but we laid low this week. The TV was on much more often than usual, and G & I could be found snuggling under our blankets on the couch. But sometimes we all just need a week like that.

Excel by 5

We did go to Excel by 5, nothing takes your mind of teething like rooms full of fun things & other kids.

Stacking foam blocks in the 'Block Room'

 

Gluing felt pumpkins onto black felt in the 'Art Room'

(I also believe I had to utter the words - "Don't eat the glue stick")

Tot Activities at Home

Coloring the pumpkin orange.

Showing off her orange crayon

 

Playing with the felt Jack-O-Lantern

Picking up the monkeys & putting them back in their barrel using a strawberry huller

Last week I managed to add blue noodles (which turned out kind of greenish) to our red noodles; I just never managed a picture of her playing with them. This week I added some orange also.

Playing with her colorful noodles

I really need to come up with a better solution for managing this activity. She gets so into it I just let her be, but it always seems to end up like this....

I think I should invest in a sheet to put down for a much easier cleanup.

How She's Growing

G is showing much more desire to dress herself. She's been able to put her arms through her shirt, pull it down over her head or pull it off for sometime. Recently I began having her pull up & down her shorts or pants.

She pulled a pair of pants out of the laundry I was folding and tried to put them on by herself...

She is also very big on accessories right now. She must always have a necklace on. Just this week - after 19 months of trying - she likes to wear hats!

(Hopefully that means headbands won't be too far off, her hair is in that awkward stage of 'grow out' & the use of headbands would be great!)

This picture is awful blurry, but this is the first time she's EVER kept this hat on and her expression is adorable. I'm glad I got the picture, because she ran away yanking the hat off 2 seconds later.

Mommy's Favorite Shot This Week

I will never get tired of pictures of G with her Daddy. Never.

I wish you all a happy & safe Halloween. May you receive more treats than tricks.

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Tot School - Blue

Week 6 of Tot School.
G is 19 months old.

This week's theme was Blue and Water!

During our Excel by 5 visit this week G wanted to visit the block room, art room and the 0-2 room. We met up with a playgroup there and she played well - for the most part - I really don't like the pushing thing that starts to show up around this age. We're trying really hard to nip that.
I was pleasantly surprised that G went into the art room, pulled up a chair and actually was engaged with two "crafts". She colored and then we glued feathers on a Popsicle stick for hair and I drew her stick friend two eyes & a nose. Something silly & simple, I was just grabbing for anything she could do because at home she hasn't really been into any crafty things I've offered. She still likes to carry her stick friend around the house, now, almost a week later.

Now our tot activities at home!

First we gathered all the blue toys.

And we put them together in a pile

Here is photographic proof that she might be getting sick of me & my camera.

(I also think the face she's making makes her look like a little old lady.)

I mixed some water dyed blue with some oil and we had fun shaking & tipping the bottle upside down. Then G really wanted to drink it, so this activity didn't last too long.

Still enjoying the flashcards.

G is still entertained, endlessly, by the Melissa & Doug Rainbow Stacker.

Now we've found some other ways to use it.

Balancing the rings in her hands

We have another, less popular stacking toy. The middle rod does not like to stay in place. So I took it off of the other base and gave it to G to insert into the rings.  Having a new way to play with this toy kept her busy for quite awhile. It didn't take her long to figure out that she could use this new stick to pick them up if she held both ends so the ring didn't fall off.

Her toy of choice to "borrow" this week from Excel by 5 - a choice that was heavily influenced by her Mama - was Lakeshore's Fish & Learn Play set.

She really enjoyed this toy, so much so that there's a chance one could be under the Christmas tree with her name on it, in December.

Spending time in the art room at Excel by 5 must have been a turning point, because she was really into painting this week. I glued down some pictures of animals that live in water and she paint washed over them. (Of course, she found out it was much more fun to turn the cup of paint/water upside down and soak the entire paper blue...) 

I took blue objects we found earlier in the week, and hid a couple of them in the backyard. G had a lot of fun finding everything, and actually moved too fast for me to get many decent pictures.

We didn't really read any new & different books this week. Actually I couldn't find many blue/water books at the library on base. Their selection is still suffering 6 years after Katrina. I think I may find out if they take donations and go hunting around the local thrift shops. Of course, it doesn't really matter because G was obsessed with the same books as last week.

How She's Growing!

G has been trying sooo hard to jump. Occasionally she'll get both feet off the ground. But more often than not it turns into skipping around. It's cute either way.



We're getting a glimpse at the toddler independence. She doesn't like to be pushed on the swing anymore. She actually prefer that you sit next to her and swing with her. She also thinks she can pump her legs. She's not in focus for this picture, but it's the only one I've been able to get of her sticking her legs out to "pump".

No new words this week either. Though she's clearly speaking in sentences. We just have no idea what EXACTLY the words are. ;)

Mommy's Favorite Picture This Week

I am amazed at what a big girl she is becoming. This picture displays her to a tee right now. She is girl through & through. Likes to have a bow or clip in her hair and likes to dance. (Here's she's dancing to "I'm a Little Teapot".) Though usually she has to wear her white tutu while dancing.

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