Shelly

George: Discussion

Another awesome read from this book club! Our final book for Page turners was George
by Alex Gino. Although George isn’t a true story, I know it’s true to many children and adults in this world. George is a great children’s book to teach acceptance in others and I’m so thankful more books like this are being published. Did you get a chance to read it? I gave it a 5/5 stars. I’ve got 3 questions below, and Lisa’s got 3 as well over on her blog. Feel free to discuss any or all of the questions in the comment section or link-up your post at the bottom. Lisa and I are sharing the same link-up, so you don’t have to enter on both blogs. The linky will close in a week. Alright, let’s get started!

George by Alex Gino

George is a very fast read as it is meant for children but it has a big story. It was definitely written for kids but I loved the detail to the book’s environment. I hope this book or a similar story is made into a movie. The struggle of gender equality, gender awareness and gender acceptance is much better now than it has been in the past but it is still a problem throughout the world.

And now, for the discussion. Before I begin, I’ll remind you that there may be spoilers ahead. Also, feel free to use my questions as jumping points. Ask your own questions and start your own discussions.

George by Alex GinoGeorge: Discussion

1.  Who was your favorite character? My favorite character was Kelly. The relationship between her and Melissa was so pure. Sweet, strong, and silly all at once—just as friendships between little girls should be. I loved that the author had Kelly think for a little while about her best friend’s news before she fully accepted her. Her love and respect for her father is also really endearing and makes me happy that such little girls exist in this world.

2. What did you think about the teacher’s reactions in this book? I was frustrated but not surprised by Mrs. Udell’s reaction when George tried out for the part of Charlotte. She had a right to be confused and caught off guard but not to completely discount her as someone trying out for the role. In my opinion, she should have let George try out for the part and if she had issues with him playing a ‘girls’ role, she should have kept that to herself. I loved that the principal stood up for George and having an open door for her to feel welcome. 

3. I loved this quote from Muggle Net: George may not only help guide such children to a place of self-esteem and acceptance but also help their peers (and teachers!) be more compassionate allies. Do you think it would be a good idea to have this book in the classroom? 100% yes. Children need to know what transgender is so that children like Melissa are able to identify the struggle they may not know how to name. My hope is that by the time Sophie is in elementary school, children are able to try out for whatever gender role they please in a school play.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading along with us this year! Lisa and I will continue to read but are not able to keep up with Page Turners any longer. With us working on our new house and the holidays ahead, I hardly have time to read the books I must read, let alone for pleasure. If you do read any particularly great books, please let me know!

Now, it’s your turn! Answer any or all of the questions in the comment section below. Ask questions of your own. Or, link-up a blog post with your review and/or the answers to these questions. Also be sure to check out Lisa’s discussion questions on her blog. We’re sharing the same linky, so no need to link-up on both blogs.

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 **This post contains affiliate links to books mentioned above.
For more book club suggestions, check out Shelly’s Pinterest board:


Halloween Ghost Toddler Shirt

This past week we had a ton of fun celebrating fall break. Since we’ve been working so hard on the house lately, I wanted to take time to really focus on our friends and family. We started the week by celebrating Sophie and her Great Grandma’s (91) Birthdays in Chicago. I had a fun Girl’s Morning Out with my niece Fiona by getting a manicure at the cutest nail salon. We picked up Sophie and went to explore the 1830s at Conner Prairie. That night we made these cute Halloween ghost shirts with the girls, played board games, and had our first cousin sleepover at our new house. The rest of the week was spent visiting with friends at Conner Prairie and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. We finished the week off by more Birthday celebrations at my parent’s house.

Fall Break Activities with Kids

Today I’m over at my friend Jocelyn’s site, Home Tome to share how I made this adorable Halloween ghost toddler shirt with Sophie and her cousins. It was a super easy project but was very helpful to have a second set of hands to help me because our artists ranged from age 1 to 5 years.
Halloween Ghost Craft

Halloween Ghost Shirt
Halloween Ghost Shirt
Halloween Ghost Shirt

What did you do on your fall break? I’d love to know about any Halloween crafts or treats you made!

How to Make Time for Creativity with a Toddler

Do you ever feel in a slump and wonder what’s going on? You’ve been eating well, exercising regularly, sleeping well but are just feeling drained. It may be the lack of creativity that you’ve been experiencing. Having kids definitely makes creating for yourself more difficult but it is far from impossible. Like I’ve said multiple times, you’ve got to take care of yourself before taking care of others. This includes feeding your creative soul.

project life

I want to share 8 ways on how to make time for creativity with a toddler because that is what I’m experiencing in my life presently.  Hopefully you’ll be able to utilize these tips whether you have no kids, a baby or older kids.

How to Make Time for Creativity with a Toddler

    1. Set a timer. I bought the Datexx Cube Timer when Sophie was younger to help me manage cleaning. I felt overwhelmed with watching her so closely 24 hrs/day and having to keep the house up. I would set the timer for 15-20 minutes and do a quick clean and was much more efficient. The same method could be used for creating. Find 15 minutes or an hour each day to do something creative.
    2. Have a ‘sit by me’ activity on hand. If your toddler is not quite ready to play alone, create ‘sit by me’ activities to have on hand to allow you to do independent crafts near each other. Creative with Kids has a few great ideas that are inexpensive and have easy clean up.
    3. Schedule creativity. Sometimes you have to schedule in fun. This also means you have to say no to invitations to make sure you’re leaving enough time for yourself. When we were in the moving process the only thing that kept me sane was scheduling in fun by literally writing it on the calendar. It did not matter how many boxes needed packed or how much cleaning needed to be done, I stuck to our ‘mandatory fun’ schedule to relieve stress. I’ve also been known to buy online classes for myself so I would be more excited to work on a specific craft. I have my eye on Scrapbook Design & Storytelling: Beyond the Basics and Crochet: Basics & Beyond for this winter.
    4. Make creativity a routine. It sounds silly to think about an activity that is based on feelings, spontaneity and whims should be a routine but it really helps. Once you start making creativity a priority and a part of your life, you will realize how important it is for your happiness.
    5. Set up a craft day with friends. Maybe you feel guilty taking time to do crafts by yourself when you feel you should be with your toddler. Why not do creative activities with friends hitting two birds with one stone. Some of my favorite past craft projects were because I was creating with friends.
    6. Create a ‘self creativity zone’ for your toddler. If you have an easily accessible, safe area that is toddler friendly, set up in your home, it will encourage your toddler to be creative on their own. Toddlers love mimicking their parents. Having their own area to create will encourage them to follow your lead. Tinkerlab has a great post on creating a ‘self creativity zone‘ and other articles on why creativity for kids is important.
    7. Have materials easily accessible. Not everyone is fortunate to have a studio or their own room specifically for crafts. You don’t need an entire room, but a space dedicated to being creative will help make creativity more spontaneous. Organize your craft supplies in a way that makes it easy to grab the materials you’ll need for a project. The small amount of time you have for crafting will be used for creating rather than searching for your supplies.
    8. Go out! If you don’t have a space that you can dedicate to your craft, go out to be creative. Paint pottery, do a wine and canvas night or even sign up for a college art class. I’ve taken photography, art, belly dancing and horticulture through a local community college and it was a great way to keep me accountable in making time for a creative outlet. Libraries often have free sessions on creative endeavors as well.

There are countless ways to express your creativity. I’ve read several books on time management and really enjoyed my last read called The Busy Mom’s Guide to Creativity. The book includes a workbook that helped me figure out what is most important in my life during this stage and how to make more time for those things. Take a good look at what you’re spending your time doing. There are several free time tracking apps that help you figure out how to better manage your time. You might only look at Facebook for a few minutes but when it’s 10 times per day, is it really a productive way to spend your time? Finding one hour in the span of a week should not be that difficult and you will likely notice that you’re more confident, more patient with your family and not as stressed. I’d love to hear ways that you make time for creative outlets or if you’ve read any time management books that have really helped shape how you spend your days.

For fun DIY craft projects, check my DIY Pinterest Board:

Sophie’s Dinosaur Birthday Party

Dinosaur Birthday Party
Dinosaur Birthday Cake
Our smiley, funny, inquisitive, compassionate, friendly little girl just turned two. A lot of moms get sad when their kids have a Birthday because it indicates they’re growing older and the day that they leave the nest is growing nearer. I am excited and happy about Sophie’s Birthdays! I love seeing everything that she’s learned and accomplished over the past year. I love watching how she’s grown and all of the new friendships she’s made. She is such a joy to have in our lives that I wish everyone could know Sophie.

‘DinoRAWR’ was the theme of her big day. We celebrated with close friends and family who care more deeply for her than I could ever hope for. Loads of sugar, bubbles and presents kept Sophie and her cousins very entertained. I spent a lot of time but not a lot of money on the decorations for Sophie’s Dinosaur Birthday Party. I was inspired by my event planner friend Misty at Frosted Events for the table set up. She helped me out by making custom pink and green printables to go along with our color theme. I based the pink and green scheme around the dinosaur party hats. I’d found the pink polka dot hats at Target and thought the green dino scales would be a perfect addition. I simply cut zig zags out of green card stock and attached them using glue dots

Dinosaur Birthday

Dinosaur Birthday Party
I wanted the food to be both dinosaur themed and toddler friendly. I had fun thinking of ways to name the snacks and recruited my family to help with the ideas. Sophie’s Grandma made a fruit tray (Dinosaur Nest) with all of Sophie’s favorite fruits. There were dinosaurs on top that were cut out of a sandwich cutter. We also had pretzel rods (Dino Bones) and Jelly Beans (Dino Eggs). The party favorite was the easiest to make! Layered Chocolate Parfait (Dig Site) using chocolate fudge pudding and crushed oreos. I topped them off with a dinosaur that the kids could take home as a party favor. 

Dinosaur Birthday Party
We also had rock candy, raspberry lemonade (Lava Juice), personal veggie sticks (for the Herbivores) and BBQ turkey meatballs (for the Carnivores). The cake was by far my favorite though. I had Jeffrey drill a hole in the top of a triceratops toy for the candle. It was secured using a glue dot because it was constantly falling down into the hollow dinosaur. Using the Cricut Explore, I made dinosaur straw toppers and dinosaur garland for the front of the table. I found free svg files of the dinosaur silhouettes and cut them on pink and green card stock.

Dinosaur Birthday Party

Dinosaur Birthday Cake Candle

Dinosaur Birthday Party

Birthday Cake Eating

Dinosaur Birthday Party


I don’t think we could have done anything different to make her Birthday more perfect for her. Dinosaurs, bubbles, sugar and most of her favorite people all in one place. She didn’t stop smiling the entire day. The only thing I would change for future Birthdays is to figure out how to slow down time so I can enjoy it longer. It was a whirlwind of fun.
Bubble Machine for Toddlers

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Every day after school Sophie comes home and says ‘beans’ and I only just figured out yesterday that she’s referring to the jelly beans from her party! I’m so thankful we were able to have a small celebration for her. I know there will be years where Sophie wants 30 best friends over or to take everyone laser tagging, so I’m happy to do chill parties for now. What is your go-to party food that everyone seems to request? I might have to do that pudding cups every year from now on!

Easy Fall Chili Recipe

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GameTimeClean #CollectiveBias

I love having people over. Especially during football season when the air is crisp, the leaves are crunchy and the smell of chili is filling our home. Chili is my go-to meal during the fall and winter months. The best part about this easy fall chili recipe is being able to whip it up in the morning and have it ready to be dished out for dinner when you get home. It’s also the perfect dish to bring to a tailgate or fall pitch-in because you’ll always come home with an empty dish.


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Easy_Fall_Crockpot_Chili_Recipe_Tailgate (1 of 1)

Easy_Fall_Crockpot_Chili_Recipe_Toppings (1 of 1)

Fall Chili Recipe

When we go tailgating we bring along our camping tub that has our outdoor essentials. Paper plates, plastic silverware, cups, toilet paper (you never know), hand sanitizer, Viva® Vantage® Towels and my homemade lemon cleaner. When you get a bunch of rowdy sports fans together, playing bags, throwing the football and spilling their chili, you’ve got to have fiber-packed paper towels like Viva® Vantage® Towels to clean those tough messes.
Easy Fall Chili Recipe for the Crock Pot

Easy Fall Chili Recipe

Easy Fall Chili Recipe for the Crock PotEasy Fall Chili Recipe

Servings: 6 people
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Passive Time: 6-8 hours

Ingredients:

  • 1  lb ground beef (could be substituted for any meet. ex: polish sausage, ground turkey
  • 2  40 oz cans chili beans (Brooks is our favorite brand)
  • 1  15 oz can black beans (rinsed)
  • 2  14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1  medium onion
  • 2  tbsp minced garlic
  • 2  tbsp chili powder
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Brown meat and sautée onions. Toss all ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, bacon, hot sauce or crackers.

And don’t forget the Viva® Vantage® Towels found in the paper towel section at your local Walmart, to help handle the mess.

Viva Paper Towels at WalmartHomemade Natural Lemon Cleaner Recipe

If you’re planning on hosting a tailgate using this easy fall chili recipe, don’t forget easy clean up with Viva® Vantage® Towels (coupon) and print out these free Tailgate Printables to help make your football party more festive!
Free Tailgate Printable for Football Season
Free Tailgate Printable( click photo to download your free tailgate printables)

All this talk about chili has gotten me excited for Sunday’s football game. Be sure to stop by Walmart to pick up a pack of Viva® Vantage® Towels for your next tailgate. What is your go-to tailgate recipe?

 


Easy Fall Chili Recipe for Tailgate


Lemon Homemade Natural Cleaner

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