I'd like to try this but...

There is a house a few blocks away that, rumour has it, contains no plastic toys.

The two children play with toys. They just have toys made out of other things such as wood or cotton. Toys you would be proud to pass on to your friend's kids, your nephews, the salvation army, .

Alas, we have My Little Pony and My Little Pet Shop to name a few. The girls like them.

In an ideal world, they too would only have wooden toys and cotton dolls and wool balls. I would have to rip birthday party loot bags out of their hands which I have been tempted to do.

The girls also like their wooden cash register. So I am striving for more natural, less plastic. Can we do it?

Here is a great website for natural toys: http://www.naturalpod.com

Quick raspberry and banana ice cream

I want to try this recipe:

2 cups frozen raspberries
2 bananas, chopped and frozen
1 cup vanilla pudding (from instant pudding mix)

Place in bowl and food process until smooth.
serve immediately with fresh raspberries.

kale chips

The kids weren't crazy about these but Bruce and I loved them.

Break kale into bite-sized pieces, sprinkle with olive oil and bake for 10 mins at 375 F.

grrrrrrrrr....

We are about to be living next to a construction site. Let's just hope the people have some taste. Not like the massive, ugly, lot hogging house across the street. Let's not build a garage and instead make the house massive and barn-like. Hey let's even paint it barn red.

Anyway, enough about the uninspiring renovation across the street. My neighbour sold her house. It went for $67,000 above what she was asking. It is a cute, one story with basement. I like it that way as we get some of the southern light in our kitchen and living room.

I am hoping our new neighbours will build something that is small and cute. Please neighbours. Small is beautiful. Grass is wonderful. Birds like tress. Bees like flowers not glass blocks.

Books we enjoyed recently

LINNEA IN MONET'S GARDEN By Christina Bjork and Lean Anderson
+ Pretty pictures and interesting facts about Monet told as a story

FRANKIE STEIN by Loa M. Schaefer, Illustrated by Kevan Atteberry
+ Loved the pictures and the ending is hysterical

WINNIE FLIES AGAIN by Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas
+ All Winnie books have wonderful pictures and fun stories

THE HOUND FROM THE POUND By Jessica Swaim and Jill McElmurray
+ This story was so cute, especially for dog lovers

Zuzu pets

Coco chose to buy her friend Audrey a Zuzu pet accessory for her birthday party tomorrow. Are you sure that is what she would like? "Yes! She is really into Zuzu pets." Cringe. I bought it.

At home Coco made this very cool wrapping paper. She has drawn all the pets on the back of the box and printed their names beside them. Very sweet.

We seem to have been invited to a lot of February birthdays - Willa-Marie, Christopher, Amelia, Audrey and Max. The kids love it.

the chart

Coco drew this chart and made up what it is about. She and Hazel get points for doing nice things. For example, Coco gave herself a point for helping Hazel put on her jacket. I gave them a point for being good in the grocery store. When the chart is full, Coco wants to register in a science class. She wants to do Cammy's Science Class at Dunbar again but I was thinking of trying one at Aberthau. In Cammy's class they watch Bill Nye the science guy dvds and do colouring sheets mostly. Coco is really into science these days so hopefully the chart will be full by April 1st when the Spring classes start. Hazel has not decided what her reward will be yet. Probably a donut or candy of some sort. We'll see.

What we're reading.

Ivy and Bean Book 7 - finished
Ivy and Bean Book 6 - we listened to the CD
The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry - we listened to the CD and are going to watch a DVD, a BBC production.

Ivy and Bean Book 5 - on page 40

Next up - James and The Giant Peach.

Just going to check the library site to put a hold on Ivy and Bean book 8. Gotta love the library!

I'm still in love... with craigslist!

The zooper stroller is gone. Confident the double futon frame and the MEC back pack won't be far behind.

Re-posting...

I think this is the longest it has ever taken me to get rid of something on craigslist. So I reposted the futon, MEC packpack and Zooper stroller tonight. We found the rain cover for the backpack since the last posting. Bizarrely I could have sold it had we remembered there was a rain cover. Anyway, c'est la vie.

I did donate a lot of clothes and books to a friend who had a baby girl. I also consigned and sold a fancy dress I was pretty sure I would never want to wear again. I am glad someone else is enjoying it.

Always looking to get rid of stuff around here!

Growth-mindset kids

"You have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better. By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better." as quoted from Coach John Wooden, who led the UCLA basketball to the NCAA Championship 10 times.

"To create growth-mindset kids, we need to repeatedly communicate: "I expect effort; I do NOT expect achievement." quoted from Christine Carter, happiness expert.

Do things because you enjoy doing them, learn something and become a better person rather than doing things solely because you are going to win and be the best.

what we're reading

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Little Girls Can Be Mean - Four Steps to Bully-Proof Girls in the Early Grades by Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert

Up Next:

Book 3 in the Ivy & Bean Series

Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman