RECOVERY

Yesterday was a fun day. But yesterday required a recovery day.
The anticipation of Christmas has been exciting, yet exhausting. I wanted Christmas to be magical for the kids. And it was. But that does not mean it was without its share of mishap. A few fights, some sadness, and an episode of parent chasing child later (both possibly screaming), we ended the evening snuggling together while enjoying a new movie. Now my house is a mess. My kids are insane. And my nerves are shot. So today we took a day to just get holiday craziness out of our system. Ran some errands in the morning. Watched a movie in the early afternoon. Played next-door in the evening. I didn't worry about schedules. Just made the day fun for little ones. And easy for myself. I should get right back on schedule tomorrow. But the mr. has off until January 2nd starting tomorrow at 2pm. Looks like the chaos shall continue...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

TIS THE SEASON

There really are no words to prepare you for what comes next...

30 BEFORE THIRTY - DYE MY HAIR

When I started thinking about this whole concept of 30 before THIRTY several months ago, I knew this would be my first accomplishment. It was one of the easiest and required the least of me. I was not really nervous or scared to make such a change. On the contrary, I was excited and rather enjoyed the whole process. I may even make it an occasional habit (much to the misfortune of the mr.). Here we are, my before and after.

Can you believe I had NEVER dyed my hair before?!

30 BEFORE THIRTY

Here it is. My 30 before thirty. I have already started to tackle a few things on the list. I will be sure to post pictures each time I accomplish something. Wish me luck; I have 3 years to get everything done.

PROCRASTINATION

I'll do it in five minutes, I swear.
My answer to everything, including this post. I say I will do it later. And I [almost] always do. But pushing things off until the last minute creates undue stress. Which is why I am evading said stress and cutting this post short. Maybe next week I won't procrastinate as badly as today. Fingers crossed.

STUFF I LOVE - APPS

There are times I share the iPad. Rare. But it occasionally happens. When I do, I want to make sure my children are getting the absolute best apps the internet has to offer. I have been perusing through thousands of apps in the last week, making sure that we have a varied selection of great, educational apps. I want to share 25 with you. They are broken down into categories, with brief synopseses. Best part? They are all FREE. Because you just can't beat free.

Click on any button to be taken to the corresponding page on the app store.

Apps for N - 6 months old:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

BABY VIEW LITE - This is my favorite app for N. It is a visual stimulation app, with black and white images to help with eye development. The [free] lite version has six different interactive screens. Her favorites are the ladybugs and the butterflies.

SIMILAC WEE GALLERY - Somewhat similar to Baby View Lite, the Wee Gallery is a series of six flash cards. Each card contains an animal that plays "hide-and-seek" when tapped. These cards also come in physical flash card form and can be purchased on Amazon.

SLEEPY SOUNDS - This is a great, simple soother for babies. It features lullabies, nature sounds, and white noise. You can also access your iTunes account through this app to play your own music. Customizable with a timer for auto shut off and a color panel for ambient light.

Apps for D - 1.5 years old:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

WORDS WITH TOTS - I love this app. It is perfect for little ones who are just learning to speak. Two objects are displayed and the correct word must be selected to continue on. There are over a hundred objects, so this app is great for building a large vocabulary.

LAUGH & LEARN SHAPES & COLORS - This was the first app I downloaded for D. It was an immediate favorite with its silly noises and colorful shapes. Simple yet delightful. It also contains a little piano with a few basic keys for playing music.

FUNKY FRUITILICIOUS - This app is fun for younger toddlers because of the bright fruits that dance across the screen. In the "challenge" mode, fruit disappears when the correct items are selected. D loves tapping all the fruit and hearing the names.

Apps for L - 3 years old:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

PLAY LAB - Love, love, love this app. So much so that I plan to pay the $1.99 for the additional games. Teaches children how to make colors, draw shapes, and count objects. Very interactive (and addictive). I also recommend the companion app, PLAY 123.

COUNTING ANTS - A newer app to our collection, this one helps teach numbers. Reinforces both written and visual numbers, as well as counting. Clever teaching design and adorable graphics. L really enjoys this app and can navigate it entirely on his own.

THINGS THAT GO TOGETHER - L is learning to associate certain objects to their counterparts. This app provides a large variety of commonly paired objects to help him understand matching by association. Simple, but effective.

Apps for J - 4 years old:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

LITTLE WRITER - Another app I just love. This one is great for children learning to write letters. Contains uppercase & lowercase letters, numbers, shapes, and words. You can customize this app by adding your own words as well. J LOVES practicing letters on this.

MATH EXPRESS - This app is good for helping children learn to count and to understand the concepts of basic math. With visual numbers displayed, kids can see how adding objects together creates a larger sum. Beginners may need a little assistance, but still a great app.

COMPARITIVES ADJECTIVES - Similar to D's Words With Tots, this app contains a great number of objects for comparison. It teaches children how to differentiate by size, age, condition, emotion, and so on. A great way for children to build a descriptive vocabulary.

Favorite interactive books:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

NUGGET'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL - I love Hallmark gift books. This is just one of many (and I definitely have all of the free ones on the iPad). They are cute little stories and each one features a couple of related games to play. Very well illustrated. The boys enjoy "reading" them.

TOY STORY READ-ALONG - Definitely a favorite. My boys own the real Buzz and Woody toys, so this book was a no-brainer. There are a few games and coloring pages, as well as music from the movie and a record-your-own-voice option. Wish Disney would make more books like this.

GOODNIGHT SAFARI - This is a sweet, interactive bed time book for children. Great for helping get young ones calm and relaxed at night. Each page contains a sleepy baby animal to help. There are additional learning apps that can be purchased (half tempted to buy a couple).

Favorite creative apps:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

DR. SEUSS BAND - This is a silly app with two modes. With free play, you can play as you wish. Switch different parts of the horn around for new, unique sounds. With game play, try to get the high score for a selected song to unlock new tunes and horn parts. The boys love it.

CRAYOLA PAINT & CREATE - Honestly, I, myself, have loved playing with this app (the boys enjoy it, too). Though there are limited coloring pages, the pages are interactive and fun. There is a huge variety in crayon color, plus markers, pencils, and paint.

TAP A TUNE - Another fun music app. No instructions, but I figured this one out through play. You can play a selected song or free play. Play by pressing piano keys or tapping animals. Notes can sound like a piano, different animals, a guitar, etc. Mindshapes has a few other great apps.

Favorite fun play:

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:

MOODY MONSTER MANOR - These silly monsters help kids learn in so many ways. They teach various types of recognition: emotional, adjective, pattern. There are many different monsters, each with a personality. Also a create-your-own feature to make unique monsters.

PLAY SQUARE - Watch PBS with your little ones? This app is a Word World wonder. Interact with an episode of Word World by helping find letters and build words. Free for a limited time, so hurry and download this app if interested. It is absolutely charming.

SAM PHIBIAN - A fun game that helps children with numbers and colors in a silly way. If you eat the wrong objects, your frog will have some crazy side effects. If you eat too many of a certain color, he might just fall in and become a snack himself.

Favorite Sunday apps:

LEFT TO RIGHT:

LDS COLORING BOOK - There are a couple of free Scripture-based coloring books, but I like the graphics and simplicity of this one the best. The Old Testament is free and contains 12 pages from well known bible stories. I plan to buy the whole set; it's only $4.99 for 13 more books.

THE COAT - This is such a sweet book. It is a true story from Heber J. Grant's childhood. The book has a few interactions throughout the pages and an option to view the book as a video. It is an app released by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, so you know it's wonderful.

KIDS BIBLE: THE CREATION - This app is not released by the Church (gasp - I know), but it is another lovely book with beautiful illustrations. It is short and sweet, with a few interactions. There are also a few games to play and things to discover.

Duh app:

PBS KIDS VIDEO - Okay. I really don't think I need to review this one. I mean, if you have kids, you probably already have this app. It contains all of the wonderful shows children love on PBS. Both snippets and full length videos. My kids could watch this for hours if I let them.

So there you have it. 25 children's apps I love.

If there are any FREE apps you love for your kids, leave a comment

telling me what they are and why you love them.

BLESSED

November has been a month to reflect on gratitude. Turns out there is a multitude of blessings in my life. Which I knew already. But when you take the time to write them out, the magnitude of it all is overpowering.
In no particular order, I am grateful for:
my unique personality ~ my handsome, supportive, loving, respectful, amazing husband ~ four healthy little ones with their own unique personalities ~ my wonderful parents ~ fabulous in-laws that I consider to be family as much as my family ~ my family (just blanketing it so I don't drag this post on forever) ~ the world's best friends, old and new ~ an amazing ward that has welcomed us since day one ~ the greatest neighbors on the planet ~ a home. not perfect, but it is a wonderful place ~ my health. being a celiac is a con, but being a runner is a pro. balanced ~ the continual forward movement with gluten free products ~ not having pain ~ perfect pregnancies and deliveries that were free from complications ~ being able to stay home to raise my children ~ graduating from ASU, even if my degree is collecting dust ~ photography. didn't predict this direction, but I love it ~ my new-found love for running ~ being OCD. hard sometimes, but being super organized is the only reason I can do all that I do ~ my ability to learn and master [most] new skills with ease ~ my love of geography and culture. I see the world differently than most ~ the depth of my feelings. I use to hate the intensity, but I have learned that I am extremely compassionate for those I care for ~ adoption ~ the life I have been given.

There really is so much more, but I don't want to go on and on. I thought about adding "hot chocolate" and "peppermint kisses" because I am grateful for such silly, random things, too. But in all seriousness, the blessings listed above have been on my mind a lot lately. And I felt I had to express my deepest gratitude. I have a wonderful life.

MICHIGAN DAY SIX

Church and back to the Musson farm before our evening flight.



So. The gate was open. And my cousin just plowed right through the weeds and brambles to the back door. Turns out, the door was kicked in, so we had ourselves an adventure at the old Musson farm. Poor house is in complete ruin.


My cousin and I got a picture just like this seven years ago when we came out for out great grandmother's funeral. Minus the babies.

MICHIGAN DAY FIVE

Holland, Michigan to see the Holland Farmer's Market and DeKlomp's Delftware & Wooden Shoe Factory.