unsolicited advice...

...on helping your child develop of a love of literacy!

i know, i know, no one likes unsolicited advice. it's so annoying! (especially when given by nagging mommas!) but, i just finished up a series over at Hellobee about helping little ones develop a lifelong love of literacy. and since i could talk about this subject for hours upon hours, i thought i'd share the links to the posts here in case anyone was interested in checking them out:

i. cultivating young readers: library visits

ii. cultivating young readers: creating a literate environment

iii. cultivating young readers: reading to your child

iv. cultivating young readers: genuine opportunities to read and write

if you have any other tips or ideas, please share away! and you can consider it solicited! :)

i love my little reader!

hello, new adventure...hellobee!

hi, friends!

i'm excited to let y'all know that i'm a part of the team at hellobee now!


i'll still be blogging here, of course, but you can also find me posting as mrs. cowgirl (the theme for blogger pseudonyms is currently dress-up clothes -- so fun!) over at hellobee. the site and awesome community focuses on TTC, pregnancy, and parenting. i'll be blogging mostly about adoption, education, and parenting in general. come on over and say, "hello!" :)

there are nice people on the internet, too!

so, yes. the internet is full of creepers and stalkers and all manner of crazy folk.

but, i tell ya, if blogging has taught me one thing, it's that there are incredible people out there wanting and willing to make connections with you and your story. and i just big puffy heart that.

way back in september of 2010, my sister, the hubs and i attended the national book festival. one of the main reasons we went that year was because one of my favorite children's authors, mem fox, was going to be there. unfortunately, due to the large crowds, we weren't able to have mem sign the books we brought.

well. sweet, sweet ashley sought to rectify that. an opportunity to hear and meet mem came up in her local area.

here is ashley with her cutie pie son, chandler, and mem:


ashley remembered my post about the book festival and missing mem and not only bought a book for mem to sign for choi boy, but also had mem pose for a snap with my blog brought up on her laptop!

i know!

see?!
 

mem signed her newest book, two little monkeys, for cb (it's SO cute and the words are magical):

and the inscription was signed, "xxx Mem Fox (Finally!)" :)

cb immediately fell in love with the beautiful illustrations and the fun story about two little monkeys, one named cheeky, one named chee...




so fun! i love watching my little guy fall in love with books...makes my teacher heart soar!


ashley, i am so blessed by your kindness! thank you for thinking of us -- we are so very grateful and just tickled by your sweetness! thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. xoxo.



and just because...

who can resist little piggies?

procrastination is my friend.

hi.

remember how i said i was going to finish that family day video by the end of last week?

yeah. didn't happen. i made progress though, so i'm granting myself an extention. so generous, i know.

there are about a million and one things i need to be doing right now...my house is a mess, things at school are really kickin' it into high gear with the end of second quarter right around the corner (read: high stress! crunch time! assessments! data! ack!), we're exhausted from still coming off the holidays, we're battling the perpetual winter daycare sickies, etc, etc, etc. fun times, people.

oh, and on top of all that, my sister has been bugging me to blog. so, naturally, that's what i choose to do. :) it's true, procrastination is my friend.

and what better to blog about than an award! :)
three rules apply to this award:

1. thank the person(s) who gave this award to you.
2. list 7 things that people may not know about you.
3. pass it on to 15 other bloggers. (i'm taking that to mean 15-ish)

thank you to my sweet friend, dana, who is waiting for her darling ollie to come home from korea. go say hello and encourage her as she continues to wait!

and 7 things? man, i feel like i'm always talking about my quirky self (hello, this is my blog, after all -- and i graciously thank you for reading as i continue to yammer on...!), so it's tricky to come up with 7 more things...but here goes.

1. when watching tv or listening to music in the car or on anything that has number levels attached to the volume, the volume *must* be set on a multiple of 5. if it's not, it drives me slightly batty. i've gotten to the point where i can now keep the volume on even numbers, but i can't ever have the volume on a prime number. they bug me. i know...told ya. quirky.

2. some of my least favorite chores are unloading the dishwasher and putting away the clean laundry. i think it's because by that point i feel like i've already done so much to get those dishes and clothes clean and that extra last step just seems like so much extra work!

3. i'm really specific about paper and writing tools in different situations. my absolute favorite writing tool is the sharpie extra fine point marker. the newish sharpie pens are pretty awesome, too, but there is nothing like the flow of the marker, especially on cardstock. but, when i use either of those, it has to be on a single sheet, flat on a hard surface (preferably a table). same with if i'm writing with pencil. but, if i'm using a ball point pen or a gel pen, i have to have several sheets of paper under that one i'm actually writing on. otherwise, it doesn't feel right. (or *write*? ha!) and, i always, always have to have the cap on the bottom end of the pen, or the weight is thrown off. (do you feel better about your non-quirky self yet?)

4. i cry really easily during movies/tv shows/commericals. yes, commercials. especially ones with children or dogs. the jif commercials kill me. and have you seen that walmart commericial with the two sisters?! i don't even shop there and i was bawling at the end of the 20 second spot. it really embarasses the hubs. once, we were watching hachi and i lost it. i cried so hard i couldn't see and the hubs and the friends we were watching it with were laughing so hard at me they couldn't concentrate on the movie any more. thankfully, my sister is also exactly like this, so when we're together, we cancel each other out. or enhance the embarassment factor by 500.

5. i went to a women's college. no, we didn't have nightly pillow fights in our cute pajamas. we did, however, sometimes go to class in our gnarly pajama pants, but that's another story. while i mostly enjoyed my collegiate experience, there are times when i wish i had gone to a larger school with a big sports program. i feel a bit left out during college football and basketball seasons and wish i had a fight song to sing. somehow, "gaudeamus igitur" just doesn't cut it. but, alas, it is what it is, so stomp your feet and sing it with me, smithies, "vivat academia!"

6. have you seen the sh*t girls say videos? they are hilarious and sadly so very true. in fact, i'm guilty of saying so many of those lines verbatim without even thinking. my greatest repeat offenses? "so good, right?" (almost always referring to food) and "i can't believe i ate all that." you can see where my interests lie. :)

7. i love ice cream and i love yogurt and i love cheese, but i hate milk. so i can't really blame choi boy for hating it, too. have you seen that "got milk?" commericial with angie harmon where she tells everyone that statistics show that children whose moms drink milk are 534 times (or some other ridiculous number) more likely to enjoy and drink milk, too? makes me feel all sorts of guilty and convicted. but still not drinking any milk. blech.

and now to pass on the award to 15ish friends:
kelly @ jon an kelly + max
elizabeth @ everyday the wonderful happens
melissa @ life as a lewis
sue @ all accounted four
nora @ ideas. i have them.
tina @ tina's xanga
tina @ a new song
joanna @ waiting for two
courtney @ it's how you live
pix @ cheese curds and kimchi

and because i would never hear the end of it from my sister if i made this all about me (it's not all about me??) and didn't include pics of cb, here ya go:

eating cookies outside on a spring-like day


giggles upon giggles (and not drinking milk)!


hard at work eating a "sammitch"!

and look, tippy eemo, i'm even inlcuding a bonus video, just for you. :)

ellie fun day.

i want to take a moment to share about some amazing friends of ours. sarah and elton recently started a new venture called ellie fun day. rather than try and explain things in my own words (inevitably messing something up!), here's their mission and their heart in their own words:


Ellie Fun Day designs baby blankets that change the lives of marginalized women in India. Our vision is to design a beautiful baby blanket made by Untouchable-caste women, in hopes of providing a fair wage and dignified living for many who are susceptible to human trafficking.

OUR PASSION is designing beautifully luxurious baby blankets
made with natural and/or organic materials.

OUR CHALLENGE is providing a fair wage and a dignified living
by employing marginalized and under-resourced women.

OUR HEART is to change the world one blankie at a time.


VALUES

People // Every life is precious.

Design // Good design empowers change.

Love // Actions rooted in love change the world.

Respect // For both people and the planet.


so cool, right?! i asked sarah if there was anything we could do to help spread the word and she wanted me to let you all know that they are holding a fundraising campaign on indiegogo (go check it out!) and they are also currently hosting a giveaway on their blog.



will you show them some love and enter the awesome giveaway?

and while you're there, take a moment and read about their story. i know it will touch your heart as much as it does mine. :)

blog love. :)

my sweet friend, christy, passed on a blog award to me, and since my super lame saturday nights consist of staying home i'm enjoying a relaxing night at home, i thought i'd pass it on.

:)

christy's family is currently waiting (with extreme patience and grace, i might add) for a referral from korea. they have been waiting for 16 months (SIXTEEN!!!) since their homestudy went to korea and we are all hoping to hear some very good news SOON. please go give her some encouragement as she waits!

here's how the award works:


The Liebster Award spotlights up and coming bloggers who generally have less than 200 followers. Upon receipt of the Liebster Award, there are a few very simple rules:
1. Copy and paste the award on your blog
2. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you
3. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
4. Hope that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.

of course, i have a hard time narrowing it down, but i think i'm going to pass this one on to some friends that i haven't passed awards to in the past.

so, here we go!
1. heather at everyday evans
2. rachel at becomming ajumma
3. kim at kimbap umma
4. shirley at konglish baby
5. joy at simply joy

would you go show those ladies some blog love? :)

and, because a post seems just incomplete without a picture or mention of my little man, here he showing off a new favorite shirt (of mine). :)

rainy day fun!

on with the chicago recaps!

nasty midwest thunderstorms spoiled our plans for the botanical gardens and the park, but my resourceful friends came up with some great indoor play ideas for our littles.

on wednesday, we met up with grace and cori and their kiddos, minus joel and seth. we had lots of fun playing in one of the coolest mall play structures i've ever seen. of course, i didn't get any pictures of it, but trust me, that treehouse was way cool. although, choi boy thought opening the door to the play area and running away was a way more fun game. me? notsomuch.

anyway, we had a grand ol' time chatting and catching up and tried to get some pictures of the kids before we said our goodbyes. and...of course, they turned out hilariously subpar.



oh, yes, that would my cb standing up on the bench and then eating a sandwich and not paying attention. and did you see his face in that second shot? bahahaha!

sweet, sweet evan was very interested in taking pictures and wanted me to snap a few shots of him.

of course, i happily obliged -- who wouldn't want to take pictures of this cute face??



the next day, we met up with beth and her cuties, sam and lily. we went to an awesome play cafe and the kids had a total blast.

and what do you think choi boy was most interested in?

did you guess finding every ball in the play area?

because then you'd be correct.

at one point, he knocked down the basket holding the balls and just climbed in.


he found the perfect ball and then went over to shoot some hoops...


check out that form!


for the most part, beth and i were so busy gabbing and laughing that i didn't get many shots of the kiddos playing, aside from that ball montage. but, i did manage to capture this hug between cb and sam.


i don't think cb could help himself because ohmygoodness, look at this cutie:

is he not adorable?! i just love his glasses...eek!

we tried to get some shots of the kids together.

why do i even try?! and believe it or not, that pained look on sam's face is actually him saying, "cheese!"


and there's cb's "cheese!" ;)

lily joined in on the fun...i can't choose which crazy face is the craziest. :)

and why does my son always have food in his hand during group shots? he is *so* my child.

and of course, i embarassed us and asked another lady to snap a picture of me and beth.

you guys, beth is hilarious and needs to start her own blog. who wants to join in on peer pressuring her?! c'mon, beth...you know you want to! ;)


and yet again, we are so grateful for the new friends blogging has brought us! yay! thanks for hanging out with us, ladies!

to the zoo!

i've said it again and again and again, and i'll say it again: the best part about blogging is meeting amazing people i would have otherwise never met. the hubs thinks i'm slightly crazy to develop friendships on the internets, but boys wouldn't understand, right?

okaaaay, if you're a boy and you happen to be reading this, i'll be your friend. okay? ;)

so, anyway. friends. while we were in chicago, we got to meet up with some of my blog buddies and it was so great to meet these ladies in person. and, if possible, they were even lovlier in person. :)

we spread out our blog buddy meet-ups and started off the week with a trip to the zoo with joanna, sue, christine, and min. joanna and i go way back (as in, we met up last year), and min and i were in korea picking up our little ones at the same time. though we managed to miss each other on THREE occasions in seoul, we were finally able to get together in the midwest...isn't it funny how things work out like that? and it was so wonderful to finally chat with sue and christine in person (and give them big hugs), too!

the kiddos had a total blast and it was amazing to see them together. and, i'm sure that's all you want to see, so let's move on to the pictures, shall we?

it was really hot out, so the kids loved playing in the fun misters...i was secretly wishing i could jump in, too, but i so would not have looked as cute as these guys when wet:



sweet little anna worked hard to coax choi boy into giving her a high five:

and eventually, cb could not resist her charms:

who could?? look at that smile!

we tried to get some group shots in the iconic kangaroo (during which time recently potty-trained champion, gabe, was off doing his business)...


but someone did not feel like cooperating.


whose yellow-shirted child is that?!

oh, right. mine.

we did also manage to see some gorgeous animals.




and we enjoyed a picnic lunch together where cohen and cb treated us to the cutest little hug fest that you ever did see.


ack. heart totally melted now.

of course, we had to try for the obligatory toddler group shot and of course, we walked away with some doozies.


not sure where that cutie joel was...

we tried to get a shot of the mommas, too.

and of course, since were simultaneously trying to smile and keep a watchful eye on our gang of kiddos, we forgot to get one with min, who took that first snap. oops!

after that, we said goodbye to most of our crew and cb, probably feeling sorry for evading the high-five, laid a big smackaroo on miss anna.

while i totally egged him on. ;)

gabe and his momma stuck around for some extra hang out time and we indulged our boys with some mold-a-rama magic.


sidenote: dude, that is a seriously cool midwest thing and totally puts our sad little smushed pennies on the east coast to shame.

we ended our visit with, what else? a ride on the carousel!

and, apparently, carousel rides are very serious business.

we had such fun and can't wait to meet up with these buddies again the next time we're in town!