"I Can Go Anywhere.."

Hello! Happy Tuesday and I hope you all had a nice Memorial Day spending time with loved ones and remember those who have fought for our freedoms and served our country with their very lives. I’m grateful to any of you in the service or who have loved ones in the service. Thank You!

I had 3 days off from work (woot woot) so I got to spend more time than usual with my Lil Toot :) We did some shopping and on the way there and back she talked non stop to her new “pet/friend” (not really sure what to call it). It was pretty cute and I wanted to share it with you. Only after the fact did I think about doing a voice recording of it (since I was you know driving and all... maybe next time ;)

(After seeing some birds flying out the window)

Lil Toot (2 3/4 yrs old):  “Mama?  I want those birdies.” she said cupping her hands holding them out towards the window and the birds. “Come here birdies. I want to hold you.” Pulling her hands together close to her chest, “I will take care of you and give you lubs (loves)... don’t be scared, I’ve got you. Mama? Do you got some birdies too?” 

Me: “Um Yes, I have one too, but only one because I’m driving (that’s smart right?)” 

Lil Toot: “I want some more birdies. Should we look for a big birdie? Do you see one? Can you get it?” holding her hands out once again.

Me: “I got one! I got a big birdie.” I was excited to play along until she changed the rules ;)

Lil Toot: “Um nope, we have to get TINY birdies to hold in my hands... Oh! I got some,” clutching her hands close to her heart again. “I love you tiny birdies. I will keep you safe.  You have to fly now.” She holds her hands out a bit so the birdie can fly off I imagine. “Fly high in the sky, birdie... Oh! you bonked (it’s head) I’m sorry birdie, are you alright birdie? I will take care of you and take you to my home, okay?” 

I’m not sure about the imagining the birdie got hurt just so she could take care of it, but at least she didn’t just hurt it for fun, right? ;)

So this got me thinking a bit about imagination and how not only fun it is, but how important too especially for the young ones. I’m kinda a word freak so of course, I looked it up:

World English Dictionary

imagination  (ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃən)
— n
1	the faculty or action of producing ideas, esp mental images of what is not present or has not been experienced
2	mental creative ability
3	the ability to deal resourcefully with unexpected or unusual problems, circumstances, etc

So then, of course, I looked it up in Wikipedia...

“Imagination helps provide meaning to experience and understanding to knowledge; it is a fundamental faculty through which people make sense of the world,[1][2][3] and it also plays a key role in the learning process.”

“Most famous inventions or entertainment products were developed from the inspiration of someone's imagination.”

And then... I read some articles on BabyCenter (which I won’t bombard you with, but definitely worth a read if your interested there are several. BUT I loved this...

And when you use your imagination with him — "Look, I'm a tiger in the jungle!" "Let's pretend we're going to Grandma's house" — you spur his brain to forge "imagination pathways" of its own. ~~ BabyCenter article “How To Raise An Imaginative Child”

‘Spur his brain to forge IMAGINATION PATHWAYS of its own’... LOVE this!! 

I know we are all busy, but try to make extra ‘imagination time’ with your little ones... to encourage and nurture their imaginations which lead to dreams which can lead to unlimited possibilities after all...

“Most famous inventions or entertainment products were developed from the inspiration of someone's imagination.”  

I love to play imagine with my girlie, maybe because I'm a fantasy writer and love to read I'm geared towards it, but I think it's important either way. What say you?  

I’d love to hear about some of the fantastic imaginations there are out there! Please feel free to share in the comments or email me.

MamaToots!

Made me think of Reading Rainbow:...

Butterfly in the sky
I can go twice as high
Take a look
It's in a book
A Reading Rainbow

I can go anywhere
Friends to know
And ways to grow
A Reading Rainbow

I can be anything
Take a look
It's in a book
A Reading Rainbow
A Reading Rainbow

New Year's Resolutions Through the Eyes of a Child 2011

In the spirit of the new year, many of us tend to participate in the age old tradition of resolutions: examining where we are in life and where we want to go and the things we want to accomplish for the coming year.  Who would have thought that even "little ones" might have a few goals of their own? Well, I did and thus this segment was born.  If these inspire you to ask your own kids about their goals, please keep sending them in and we will continue this segment through the rest of January.




Welcome to "New Year's Resolutions Through the Eyes of a Child":


Shea C.
7yo daughter: I want to listen to my mom better and get along with my sisters better. Me: Is there anything fun you want to do this year? 7yo: I want to ride the biggest, bestest roller coaster! And I want to pick flowers and put them in vases. Me: Anything else?  7yo: To have chapped lips and face (she's been skiing).  Me: Do you mean you DON'T want chapped lips and face?  7yo: Ya... whatever, you know what I mean.


5yo daughter: I want to read and to write more words.  Me: Anything fun you want to do this year?  5yo: To do binastics (gymnastics -lol)

Mama2pt0 @nuckingfutsmama

Apparently my son's wish for the new year is for the sky to be blue & the grass to be green. Such a dreamer.

Shawna T.
So my 5 yr. old daughter says, "My New Resolution is to use my listening ears more. Oh yeah, and get to the gym more often!" My 3 yr. old son said, "my New Year is to play with my trains more!" 


Keli B.

I loved the idea of sitting with my kids and talking about their goals, but at first they weren't so sure about it:

The Little Miss (7) quickly told me this was way too much like school, too hard for her to understand and she needed to get back to organizing her JustinBieberathon of posters and books she got for Christmas.  (I don’t make this stuff up.)   I asked her to stick around and listen to her brother’s to see if maybe it helped her think of anything.

My Little Man (5) quickly said “I want to be nice and not grumpy and earn mostly smiley faces on my calendar so I can get rewards and be good.  Then I want to have some peace and quiet and then maybe go sledding a lot.  Is this how it works Momma?”  (If you know this child you now understand why the Apocalypse is upon us.)

The Little Miss then decided to play along (probably since I was on the floor passed out from the shock of my Little Man’s adorably thoughtful response.)  “I want to throw a big party so everyone knows how much they are my friend.  Then I want to start doing more nice things for other people – and not just worry about myself.   I’ll start by shoveling snow for people  who can’t do it themselves.  Then I’ll think of more things.  Maybe I’ll start making cards and sending them to people to tell them I’m thinking about them and hope they are doing good.  Oh- and I wouldn’t mind getting some new shoes.”  (That’s my girl!)
To read the full story visit her blog: Improperly Forward




My daughter is too young to verbalize her new year's goals (1 1/2), but I was trying to teach her to say "Happy New Year" and she mumbled something close in return then automatically started shouting it as she roamed all over the house with her arms up in the air like she does when she says "surprise".

Thank you to everyone who shared their children's goals! Remember you can still submit goals throughout January so keep 'em coming.  Make sure you sign up to receive your Toots via email so you don't miss anything.

Thank You!
MamaToots

Friday Flashbacks

Remember...


When my oldest daughter was 2, she would go in her room for a nap and would talk, sing and cry, then it was completely silent. So I would go in and check on her and could not find her anywhere! Her room was tiny too, not many places she could have gone. We kept all her dolls and stuffed animals in her closet and there she would be snuggled right in the middle of them, all I could see was her face sticking out! She was a doll!

Shea C.                                                                    Read More...