Rowan, the fiery Red Moth

Bedtime and a book review: Rabbit Ears by Amber Stewart and Illustrated by Laura Rankin

Bedtime.  Thank goodness, right?

Tate reads Levi and Rowan their bedtime story.

Well sometimes our bath and bedtime routine is all fun and giggles and sometimes it's more like this....

I bet you've had nights like that too.  But no matter what, by the time we are all settled down to read our favorite books everyone is the happiest they've been all day.  Once we are cuddled in with piles of pillows, our favorite books, a few sweet yawns and rounds of "I love you's" we all know that the world is good.

Our absolute favorite book right now is Rabbit Ears by Amber Stewart and Illustrated by Laura Rankin.  Not only are the illustrations just beautiful, they are also full of life, expression and the most important part... silliness.

The book is about a little rabbit named Hopscotch who does not like having his ears washed in the bath.  No matter what, not even if his mommy bribes him with his very favorite chocolate cake.

The book is full of things to giggle about and every part is relatable to my little boys not liking to have their hair washed.  In the end Hopscotch learns from his bigger cousin that washing your ears is not all that bad and Hopscotch eventually does it on his own.

The story is a reminder to me that these little frustrations are temporary as well as a slight suggestion to my boys of how they can do things on their own, just like their bigger cousins.  All in all, I don't think you can pinpoint what makes a book THE magic bedtime book, but whatever it is this book has it.

Best wishes and a snuggly goodnight- Nikki 

Ninja Love

We crazy love Ninja's over here.  Big fuzzy heart Valentine love Ninjas.
My two boys dress like Ninja's everyday.  Luckily all they need is matching pants and shirt and then they are transformed in to whatever color they are wearing Ninja.  I've had to find a few extra black shirts and black pants because most often they want to be black Ninja's.

I have to say, I love it a lot.

We have Ninja training often.  It's the most requested game from my boys and my nephews.  I'll try to explain how we play.

I am the Sensei and the boys are all in Ninja training.  We start by sitting on the floor in a circle with our legs crossed in a yoga pose to focus.  We do this little mini meditation in between each training excise to regroup and get the boys to calm a bit between each activity.

Then we have 4 main training sessions.

First, we practice punches.  I don't really know what I'm doing, they just follow me punching the air.  We practice left punches, right punches, combo punches, spinning punches.  Whatever little combo I come up with we practice for a few minutes and then they each take turns showing off how they can do it on their own.   I tell them they have graduated to the next level and we meditate before moving on to the next practice.

Secondly, we practice kicks.  Similar to the punching but with kicking.  They are real Ninja's and they take this practice very seriously.  Meditating for our transition.

Thirdly, we practice flips.  ***I am not recommending your kids do this***  My boys flip off of the couch and then add punch and kick combos.  A nice safe floor roll is what I suggest, and then jump up and kick punch kick!

The final practice is STEALTH!  They will do this for hours once we start.  I point out someone that they need to sneak by without being seen, usually it is Aunt Christie in the kitchen or a random family member sitting at a table or on the couch.  They crouch or belly crawl past the unsuspecting target.  They are usually full of giggles and I have them do this a few times until they can sneak past quietly and "unsuspected."  Silly boys.  They really can't get enough of stealth.

Once Ninja training is finished, they always devise Ninja missions and go off to save the world.  Boys really are fun.  <3

My sons favorite color is Pink and he wanted a pink Ninja a made a lot of them last year, but this year  I've just added one to the shop.  We had quite a rough winter.  It was one sickness after another.  I hope you guys all got through it well!

I don't have any Ninja Training photo's, since I'm usually busy being a Sensei.  I'll try to get one next time.  This is my little Ninja crashed!

I made a huge pile of mini Ninja's to go with my sons Pre-K valentines last year, this year the request is for them to all be pink and white!

This Pink Ninja is my sons favorite.  I've just added one more to my etsy shop! 

Here is a peek at what the valentines look like.    

This one is our favorite. 

I wish you all have a fun Ninja Valentine's day this year!

peace and love, Nikki

sing, sing a song!

My baby sings all day long.  He wakes up singing and falls asleep singing, he has been singing everyday of his 2 years of life.  I think that odd vibration in my pregnant belly must have been him singing back to me, so I might even say he started singing before he was born.

I sing to them "Cleary, Cleary, clear as the sky is Cleary.  Soren, Soren, soaring the mountaintops."  And they sing back "Mommy, mommy, pooping on Daddy's head."  Yep, I have boys.

My two boys and my two nephews are completely obsessed with the fox song by Ylvis.  They sing and dance to it all day long.  Luckily, I really love it too.  Especially the sweet baby voice version with the off key harmony.

We went to see Walking with Dinosaurs, going to the movie theatre was an adventure in itself but the movie was absolutely outstanding!  On the way home Cleary, my 4 year old, complained of boredom.  I suggested we make up a dinosaur song to sing on the way home, he said no but Soren started singing "ringading ding ring a ring... what the dinosaur say!"

I wanted artwork for the boys room that was a reminder of all the singing we do together.  

This embroidery was really simple and if you have a favorite onsie you could do the same thing!

 The tee-pee came straight from Santa's workshop... aka my studio.

When I unveiled the artwork Soren shouted "Oh my GOSH!!!!!  You made that?"  And Cleary, jumping up and down "IT'S AWESOME!"   They really know how to ham it up for a Mamma!

I upcycled my favorite baby onsie that both boys wore.  It was a special gift from my oldest friend.  (I'm giggling as I call her old, she is 6 days older than me!  What I really mean is that we have been friends since we were 12.)

I wish I had taken a photo of the shirt before I cut it up.  It was really cute, the birds flocked across the front, the back and the sleeves.  It also had a cool hipster collar. 

The boys now have artwork in their room and I am feeling accomplished.  My new years resolution is to make more art.  I suppose I am off to a start!