STOP Bullying

Today is wear a Pink Shirt Day for bullying day. And, as always, when the subject of bullying comes up, I cannot help but think about some things... Let me lighten my mind by enlightening you... Since my 3 year old son doesn't understand the concept of bullying another child I am choosing to infuse in him strength... The strength to realize he is as able & better than any bully. I have to disclose to you that I believe my son is the most compassionate, empathetic little one I have met. Early on, when my son's growth tended on the taller side (taller than his Nursery School peers & friends) my husband & I were worried he may tank over the others & use his height to his advantage. We brought up our concerns at his Daycare, where we were met with looks of "are you kidding?" & told that they prevent other children from taking advantage of him, his gentleness. Toys are taken from him. I hope to God my son always has the strength to veer away from the unkindness; To know he is dear, as dear as the next person. He is an original with his own aptitudes as well as quirks. He IS worthy of everything good. Ignorance truly is one of the biggest problems facing society today. Let's cease using words & phrases like "retard", "short bus", "rainman", etc. No one is perfect. NO ONE. Think you are? What are the chances- 1 in 7.069 billion?! (that is the world population estimate by the USCensus Bureau.) Wow, then you should play the lottery, stat. And if you think "people" are offended "easily" well, I am HURT by your thinking. And remember sarcasm is not always smart. Sometimes it is biting & cruel. I am wearing pink but am going home to the sweetest little boy I know later who is wearing a navy blue school uniform shirt. We will be celebrating National Polar Bear Day with a "Polar Bear Polar Bear, Whar Do You Hear?" reading & a craft because I know G is empathetic, kind & will be brought up not to bully.

<3 G's Mommy

with love & tears... A Day of Blogger Silence

Nature-Inspired Turkey

Check out the guest post I did at Mom It Forward:

Nature Inspired Turkey / Thanksgiving Card

Happy Thanksgiving!

<3  Momma Lishie

A Concrete Gift Idea

So even before Gabriel was born, I got grandpa/my pop-in-law a garden stone with the first 5 grandchildren's names under girl-boy-girl-boy-girl stick figures titled "Sprouts of Love". Then for Gabriel's first Father's Day, he got grandpa a stone with a Pop stick figure & baby figurine of Gabriel, titled "Newest Sprout" (pictured). This year we decided to make a stone ourselves from a craft store kit. 

The instructions said to use a bucket to mix the cement. Instead, I took a rinsed out gallon milk jug & cut it in half horizontally leaving the handle. I mixed the cement mixture in it then tossed it! Perfect repurposing. The funny thing is Gabriel thought we were baking at first! The mixing looked like it, especially since I had to measure the water!

After the stone set, I prepped G's feet to get "stamped". Uh oh... my paint-stamp loving boy hated the feel of the cement!!! It flew everywhere!!! I had to quickly clean his feet, the cement off our kitchen tile & then smooth the stone's surface again. Ha! So no footprints for grandpa... I went with stones & painting instead.

There was left over cement mixture & w made daddy a paper weight using a Tang container top as the mold. I asked my hubby for a guitar pick he did not mind "losing". So Daddy does rock!

I also repurposed a wooden butterfly craft container into another garden decoration. This was all so much fun!

<3 Lishie & Gabriel

Visit my Food Blog: DeLish

End of School

Thank you Bitsy Creations for the printable!

The end of a school year is bittersweet... Here is what Gabriel & I did to make it easier...
Little gift for Mrs. V:A cute zebra-print Beach Towel with, 
"It takes a big heart to help shape little minds" card & note inside signed by G...

Thank you Anything But Perfect for the printable!

Little reminders for the kids:

Animal Sand Tools with "See you later alligator; hope you have a cool summer" tags

(What I say to G every day!)...

& Some Nom Noms...

Turtle Pull-Apart Cupcakes

Vanilla Zoo Animals

Happy Summer!!!

<3 Lishie & Gabriel

Happy Flag Day!

It's Flag Day, June 14th! Celebrate by finger painting a flag. I love this one Gabriel made! It looks very Folk- artish! And while crafting, teach about the origin of Flag day:

From About.com re: Flag Day:

Brief History of the Flag Day Celebration

June 14, 1877 - The flag of the United States was flown in every government building marking the centennial of the adoption of a national flag.

August 1949 - June 14 was officially declared Flag Day by President Harry S. Truman. Since then Flag Day is observed yearly and it is a time when Americans display the flag in front of their homes, outside office buildings, government agencies and other establishments. 

American Samoa observes Flag Day on April 17 (I left this in for Gabriel! April 17th is his birthday!!!).

Or you can do this-

Template from Coloring Castle:

Gabriel-6/14/2011

<3 Lishie & Gabriel

Visit my Food Blog: DeLish

Father's Day ideas...

This past Sunday, Gabriel & I had some mommy & me time at Michael's Craft store's "Make-It Take-It" Event. We had so much fun making not only daddy a Father's Day key chain, but also grandpa! The craft was 2-thumb stamps to equal a heart. Then, hand-over-hand, we printed G's name. I think they turned out cute! So endearing.

Since Gabriel also loves to hand stamp paint, we made this:

Simple, adorable & all you need is paint! 
If you still need another idea, I've blogged this before:

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

<3 Lishie & Gabriel

Visit my Food Blog: DeLish