Welcome to Spring

It is officially Spring.

Bring on pretty dresses and sandals, right? 

Well apparently Mother Nature doesn't care since she blanketed our town with an unexpected snow.

But with the melting snow and hope that pretty blooms will start to appear again, brings the excitement of change!

Lots of change going on at {the nuthouse} in the coming weeks.

1. Lots of spring cleaning and purging.  It's time to declutter a little bit!
2. Furniture shuffling throughout the house
3. A little scenery change as we get ready for Spring Break in the Outer Banks
4. My dad and step mom are about to embark on an adventure and move! 

Oh, and one more awesome change...
My sister in law and her husband, and of course my handsome nephew too, are all on their way to VA... RIGHT NOW!!  That's right!  Cousin love just got a little bit more awesome!

What are ya'll looking forward to this Spring?

xoxo,
Linda

Developmentally Sound

Sorry to have missed a week, folks.  Lainey's immune system is still struggling to keep up with the preschool germs.  Which, in turn, is leaving me struggling to keep up with life.  Lots of sleepless nights and I have seen the Mickey Mouse doctor poster more times than I would like to in the last 14 days! 

So, let's not focus on physical health today; let's take a look at developmental health.

One of my cousins is wrapping up her tour of pediatrics in nursing school and as one of her final assignments, she needed to "assess" a toddler-aged child for developmental milestones.

Well, what a coincidence! I happen to have a toddler-aged child!!

The most commonly asked questions of people when they hear Lainey is a preemie is always "Well, how's she doing developmentally?"

I know they are curious if her being a preemie has had any negative impacts to her growth, but I still cringe at the question.  I generally shrug it off with a "She seems perfect to me." or something of the like.  So, when Torie asked if she could use Lainey as her test subject, I was actually intrigued.

I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to see how Lainey really is doing in terms of her growth, motor skills, and all that jazz.

Pleased to report: She passed.

As to be expected, she passed what she was supposed to pass.

But, then there is the flip side of tests like this...

These tests are very much so a pass/fail scenario.  There is no "well she kind of jump on her own" answer when the form says "Can the child jump with 2 feet of the ground on their own?"

So, here is my qualm with this, and probably more standardized testing to come in our future schooling...

How can one test determine how smart my child is? 

For example, Lainey was asked to identify the cat on a piece of paper.  Well, surely, this would be an easy task for her.  She knows what a cat is, what it says, and how to call the neighbor cat to visit our front porch.  BUT no - she did not identify the cat, nor did she identify the dog on the same paper! 

You've got to be kidding me, kiddo.

Now, of course, I understand the value of baselines and minimum requirements for placements, etc.  There has to be guidelines and things in order for graduating to the next grade or getting into certain programs. I get it.

And what may be more frustrating for me, the mother, is that I know she knows the answers to the things she "failed." 

It just reiterates to me how invaluable a single test can be.  No wonder teachers are not usually fans of SOLs.  I am sure they have value, in fact, I know they do. But that doesn't mean I have to like them, right? 
 
I just don't think one test should hold so much weight.


xoxo,
Linda

Spring Styling

Gotta love VA weather -- earlier this week there was a snow storm in VA and yet early next week, the temps are projected to be in the 60s!  This up and down weather has me yearning for warmer weather!

So, let's bring on the Spring pretties!!

LV - Spring 2013 by lindavenema featuring tops

xoxo,
Linda

{2012} published

I may be a few months into 2013 already, but I finally ordered Lainey's 2012 in review book! I so wish that I could create this book as the year goes on, but it never fails... I wait until after Christmas to even get started. 

2011 was much simpler since it was only half a year to document, so I admittedly didn't really know how I was going to handle an entire year of photo fun!  Yes, that's right... last year was Lainey's first full year bringing joy and excitement into the world!

It's so fun to go back through all of the photos, snapshots, and instagrams and see how this little gal has grown up over the last year. 

Should be here today! Can't for tonight's bedtime book... I think I know which one we will be reading!

xoxo,
Linda

You may be the parent of a preschooler if...

 Over the weekend, the mini-me and I had some errands to run and a birthday party to attend.  When I got home, I took a minute to think about just how much this little person means to me and how much my life has changed in the last

Phil stood in the kitchen with a giant box of goldfish in his hands and said "Look at all of these toddler snacks!!" And it got me to thinking...

You may be the parent of a preschooler if...

... While you are running errands, you stop at a gas station to fill your car up. Instead of just standing by the pump, you play a rousing game of peek-a-boo through the car window.

... You make your way through Target saying "Yes, that IS Dora... we just can't get away from her, can we?"

... You pass the baby food on your way to diapers and the mini-me in your buggy yells "NACKS!!!" So you stop, rip open a pouch from the shelf, and keep on shopping.

... You look back on your Sam's Club stock pile and see the following in that bulk mountain of yours: juice boxes, animal crackers, goldfish, and nutrigrain bars.

... Your social calendar becomes filled with playdates or birthday parties instead of manicures and lunch dates.

... Instead of singing the latest Top 20 hits in the shower, you sing your ABCs.

... At home dance parties consist of who can do the "Hotdog Dance" better.

... Ice cream for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert is totally acceptable.  After all, it's actually just organic yogurt!

... Labeling everything is part of your daily routine.

... Crying is the normal way to say "Bye, Mom" when you go in for the dreaded daycare drop off.  Oh wait, that may just be us?

It's official - my daughter is playing this momma like a fiddle! I dropped her off with tears streaming down her face, said "Mom's gotta go to work to pay for all your pretty stuff." as she said "But I YOU!!!" I called the school when I got to the office, just like I normally do to make sure she had stopped crying, and the school's director said, "Well, Mrs. Venema - I went in there as soon you left and she wasn't crying anymore."

Happy Tuesday, ya'll! 

You survived another case of the Mondays! 

Congrats!

xoxo,

Linda

Quick dinner!

Last night was weekly family dinner with our partners in crime, the Snelsons (aka my biggie and her kiddo)

We alternate whose house we eat at each week and last night was our turn.

Now, you may be asking yourself, "Well what did Phil cook? Because we all know...Linda doesn't really cook."

Well aren't ya'll funny? Just because I don't like to cook doesn't mean I can't find a recipe and follow it! 

Having two kids under 5 at dinner can sometimes be a task, but more times than not, Lainey and Jameson are both decent eaters.  Wanting to be a little fun and still fix something super easy, I went to pinterest, of course!

Started salivating at the thought of these yummies and then did a happy dance at how incredibly easy they were to fix!

Crescent Pizza Rolls

Ingredients:

2 cans of crescent rolls

1 package of pepperoni

1 package of string cheese

To do:

Roll out the rolls

Layer one half of the triangle with pepperonis

Place half a cheese stick on there

Roll them up

Fold the ends a little bit so the cheesy goodness doesn't ooze out too much

Bake according the package on the rolls

Serve with some marinara/pizza sauce

Enjoy!

I also fixed a big salad for the grown ups to eat with our pizza rolls.  Kiddos enjoyed peaches with theirs.

Ridiculously easy! So easy, in fact, I fixed most of them with a tired/cranky toddler on my hip!

This is definitely a do-over on my easy dinner list!  You could even change it up and fill these bad boys with other stuff too -- like ham and cheese!

What are some of your quick and easy go-to recipes??

xoxo,

Linda

When did my toddler become a big kid?

Yesterday, I walked into Lainey's classroom and her teacher's face lit up with excitement.  No, not because I was there to take an awful child home for the day.... 

She got excited for my child.  She said, "Ms. Venema -- Lainey had a GREAT day! The BEST day yet!!" She went on to tell me how great Lainey was adapting to school and how involved she was becoming with her new friends.  

Just as she started to say, "And she's even acting great when other parents come in and out of the room!..." a dad leaving with is daughter opened the door back up and said "You're Lainey's mom? I gotta tell you she has grown up SO MUCH in the last 2 weeks! It's amazing to see how much she is enjoying the school and how she has gone from staying close to the teacher to just sitting with kids on her own!!"

I can not tell you how excited this makes me!  It makes me excited to know that Lainey has teachers that care about her and are helping her learn and grow.  But it also makes me excited that Lainey is really getting into the swing of things and enjoying school.

But when did my toddler become such a big girl?!

xoxo,
Linda