Cinco De Mayo and Friction Spiders

Monday, May 3, 2010 3:11 PM Posted by The Cookie Cutter Diva 1 comments





















Today was a pretty crafty day in the school room for most of the day! It was definatly a much smoother day today then it was on Friday by far. I think the more we go on the easier it will get as well.


I really enjoyed getting half our day done before dad came home for lunch and taking recess and lunch while he was here so that he could enjoy getting to visit with them too. I know he feels like he is missing out on so much of their lives right now as well as I do.


First one of the fun activities we did today on top of the text book work was for arts and crafts/music we made homemade maraca's in honor of Cinco De Mayo coming up out of some toilet paper rolls I have been saving. I knew they would come in handy soon!



First we took a toilet paper roll and put plastic wrap on one end, attaching it with a rubber band.



Then the kid shad their choice of different items such as beans, rice, misc items from the kitchen to put inside as fillers.


we covered the other end the same with plastic wrap and a rubber band and had fun playing music and learned about the different sounds the different items could make!





Then for science today we did a Friction Spider chosen from my friend Emily's Blog about Electric Preschool Activities.


http://www.learningvicariously.com/



First you draw a circle. I had one child cut out the circle and draw a face while the other child traced his hands and cut them out for the legs.




We assembled them with tape as suggested.



Then on to assemble the friction part. We didn't have any note cards so we used an empty poptart box from our recycling bin and cut it into the shape of a note card and punched holes in it. As well as attaching a used popcicle stick we had saved in our stash and a long piece of craft yard.











Also attached at the bottom of the spider is three pennies to allow a little weight.









When the string is held tight the spider sits still. When
the string is cut a little slack Mrs. Spider comes crawling down!

























For our snack time today we had Wubbzy's Marshmallow Lasagna after a friend of mine mentioned her son asking for it! I had never heard of it but it looked super cute and I thought it'd be a big hit with the kids but saddly it was not with mine as they are not smore's fans at all. What kid isn't? They are strange little kids lol But I'm sure it will be a big hit for other children and thought I'd pass it on!






Wubbzy's Marshmallow Lasagna



http://www.nickjr.com/recipes/wubbzys-marshmallow-lasagna.jhtml?path=/recipes/wow-wow-wubbzy/cookies-treats/all-ages/index.jhtml



4 Graham Crackers

8 Jumbo Marshmallows

2 Chocolate Bars

Sprinkles


So we had a pretty fun day around here today and of course the kids were excited it was so beautiful out and didn't rain before recess and they got to play at the park behind our house for recess!

A great site for printing out work sheets and has several different subjects from writing, math, and more that I thought I'd pass on..

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/index.html

Well I'm finished eating my extremely LATE lunch and guess I better try to continue folding the pile of laundry I have going on and put it away before it's time to take the boys to wrestling!

Army Issued Wife

12:09 AM Posted by The Cookie Cutter Diva 1 comments
Watching Army Wives really hit home in so many ways tonight.
I'm sure so many of us can relate in so many ways to Pamela in the sense that we have been an Army Wife for so long that we almost loose a sense of who we are and don't know how to be much else. With that being said, like Claudia many of us made that choice to give up certain paths in our lives to walk besides of our soldiers and stand by their side no matter where the Army sent them and may send us. Rather it be up rooting our family to move to a brand new place clear across the states in 60 days, leaving family behind and having to say our good byes and see them only on holidays or leave time, leaving close friends we have made along the way, leaving a college degree behind and putting it on hold till we can make new friends or find new childcare to resume it, leaving a career behind that might be easy to pick up at the new duty station or very hard for some if you have to build a new clientele even, our kids leaving behind their familiar friends, their schools, and so much more all to build a home where the Army sends us. We chose to take the path rather it be an easy one or a hard one and most of us don't regret that in any sort of way when it comes to following the love of our life or the new adventure the army life can give to us. But in a sense, some of us get lost if we had to give up certain things in life that were much more and don't know how to be more than an Army Wife.
What would we do if tomorrow we were told that our spouse lost our job in the military? What would we do if our spouse was lost at war? What would we do if our marriage fell apart from the very thing that we gave up our lives for? How do you just pick up and start your life over again as a civilian and give up the community that you know? The life style that you live every day? When you live the life every day it doesn't seem to phase you much more then that till you realize what all would be gone. Maybe some of us don't shop at the commissary and make a trip to HEB or even Walmart to get groceries because we don't want to deal with the line on pay day or it's closer then the commissary? But to be told that we could no longer use the benefits at the commissary? We'd be a little lost! We complain about the health care we receive sometimes on post (I know I do with my run around on my thyroid issues here at this post and waiting 2yrs to get treatment or taken seriously) but to be told it is no longer an option for us? That we no longer have health care? That we have to find a job that can even slightly amount to what we once lived off of? We of course appreciate it much more when it's not there and we are in a state of shock when we realize just how beneficial it really was!

How do you continue to live someone else life yet keep your own? Are there things you do to ensure that you don't "loose" yourself?




I didn't have to give up a college degree I started or a career even to come here but I know that the thought of PCSing even from here sometimes throws me for a loop. We know when he returns from his upcoming tour we will more then likely be PCSing and that sometimes looses me a little thinking of what I have here, what I will be loosing. I like to think here I have that sort of "Army Wives" community that they have on the show and have that with my friends. I know when I first moved here I really did have that but unfortunately two of my very best friends Tara and Katharine PCS'd but I still have some very close ones left. I have the kind of friends here that I know will stick with me through thick and thin. Who will bend over backwards to help me when I need them to the most. Who know the crazy side of me when I had fun, when I cut loose, when I could kick back and have good times but can deal with the completely lost wacko that I am right now on this roller coaster with my health. Have they run away? No they have stuck by my side just like they did with Claudia Joy when she found out! They have made me deal with things I didn't want to deal with and offered help when they could to ensure I got things taken care of and offered laughs and good times when I felt up to it but didn't hate me for those times I didn't feel up to it. I'm sure they are disappointed as any friend would be but they are sort of like a marriage.. they are there through thick and thin, for better or for worse, through sickness and health and that is why I love my friends here and why I can't ever imagine leaving them.

Sure, a PCS is a new adventure. I will meet new people. I will make new friends. But you don't just meet people and automatically fall into a friendship like that. It's hard to find friends like that and even harder to find a little group like that. Army wives have a way of hitting it off and finding that common ground and sticking together but sometimes you find some really really great ones that are hard to let go of and it's been hard that I've had to let go of two.. we don't talk nearly as much as we did here as I'm horrible with communication it seems and keeping in contact when far apart but I miss them so much every day!





I cried at so many parts of the show tonight. Watching Joan miss her daughters first birthday reminded me how fortunate I was that my husband left the day after our daughter Brooklyn's 1st birthday but almost missed it! But also reminded me how sad I am that he won't be here for our last child Peyton's first birthday.

It's sad to think about but as a deployment draws near it just makes you cherish the time you have together so much more and start holding on to every little moment you have together and every little memories and not waste a minute!






On a lighter note! Today was a pretty awesome day! I felt wonderful and these heart meds seem to really be helping out! A friend of ours had their daughters birthday party out at the lake today and we made it out there late but made it none the less and had a wonderful time! Especially since they opened it up for swimming today and the kids defiantly needed that after the disappointment of the hole in their brand new pool I had to return!


I absolutely love the start of summer and can't wait to spend more time out at the lake and watch the little happy faces running up the stairs and screaming down the water slides!