Inspired and Educational Coffee Friday!

Hello everybody! Welcome to our Coffee Friday Party! Today I am very happy to introduce to you a wonderful blogger, her name is Elizabeth Peterson, I don't really know her that well! But I love everything that has to do with education and arts! And she blogs in a very cool site, The Inspired Classroom, where teachers and parents can get inspired everyday!

I really encourage you to visit the site... Elizabeth didn't really share much about herself when she submitted the picture to be published here... I soon realized it has to be because she doesn't want to "toot her own horn" but... she's amazing! she's a 4th grade teacher and she's just so dynamic and creative... well... you can read more about her here

I will now let her share with us! Welcome to "The Coffee Shop" Elizabeth!

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 www.TheInspiredClassroom.com is the place where teachers can get inspired so they can be inspiring to their students.  I am a fourth grade teacher and arts integration specialist, I also blog regularly about arts
integration as well as other related  educational topics.  My website offers insightful posts, resources and professional development opportunities for educators of all subjects and grade levels.

Studio Day and The Creative Process

What is True Integration

Coffee is a must during report card time.  Don't get between this teacher and her favorite mug of coffee!

Elizabeth Peterson

So... Make sure you stop by her site and say hi to her! I am sure she will appreciate it! Thank you Elizabeth for sharing about yourself and some of your coffee with us!
© Paloma K.

Between a bucket and paper towel

Hello everybody, that's how I've been living my life lately... between a bucket and some paper towel! My littlest one was sick a few days ago... and yesterday, when I had just started "celebrating" we were "out of that" my oldest (4 yrs. old) started throwing up... and here I am again, holding a bucket "when needed" and just taking care of her... I am exhausted, haven't been getting much sleep, but it's ok... I must say I am very blessed to be able to be a SAHM and I don't have to worry about a job or who will take care of her... I can do this day and night and know that I don't have to go anywhere... it gives me peace and I am sure, even when my girls don't know just yet how blessed they are by this, they are appreciative for everything I do... (even when I sometimes even get yelled at by a very demanding sick little girl) ... of course she is moody and even has headaches... but it's just a virus and I am thankful it's nothing more serious...

So... when little ones are sick... it's not always easy to see the good side of it... or to be able to count your blessings in the midst of it all.. But I've found great encouragement through prayer, His Word and a little, simple devotional for mommies...

So, I thought I'd share a portion of what I read last night... hoping someone else can benefit from it as well...

 The verse was: "And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." Genesis 24:60

The devotional for the day mentioned how, it would be very weird if we people said something like that on the day of our wedding (or any time I think!) ... thousands of millions of children? I can't even deal with two!

Drawing obviously isn't one of my talents... but this is how I can picture it in my mind

 
But ... Children... are a blessing! and when Rebekah heard this, she knew they weren't joking ... of course they didn't think she would have thousands of millions but that was a way of saying "I hope you have a very blessed, fruitful life"

Then... and now I'll quote directly from the devo: "Children are God's blessing to you. Whether you have one child or many, you have a unique opportunity to influence the world..." (source: Whispers of Wisdom for Mothers of Preschoolers)


Last night... thinking about that... and thinking of what a blessing (or curse) my children can be for those around them... and the impact that their lives can have on others, some day, hopefully for God's glory... it made me feel that me holding a bucket isn't as irrelevant... this is serious work... I've always known being a mom is important... but sometimes I lose sight of it, when I get lost in the mundane, living day by day in a routine of washing dishes, doing endless laundry and feeding mouths that are always ready for more! ... I hope I can always remember this... I hope I can put things in perspective and do things more intentionally... redeeming the time I have with my little girls... a sleepless night seems endless when you're going through it... but the days of a children go way too fast... and I know I haven't been taking as much advantage of them as I could!

Ok... now I have to go... I need to go have a cup of coffee.. this night might be hard too... and speaking of coffee... would you join me on Friday? We'll have our last featured blogger of the year (don't worry... Our Coffee Fridays will continue) but I'll take a break due to the Holidays and I've already scheduled some bloggers for January... so... come on! Mention "coffee" somehow in any of your posts... even if you say "latte, Starbucks, Gevalia, Dunkin Donuts, coffee table, coffee cake" ... something that is about coffee... please link back and link up! I'll be very happy to see you here!



© Paloma K.

Coffee Friday - Join our Princess Tea Party!

What? No coffee on our coffee Friday? Well... you're free to have your cup of coffee with you! I actually have mine as I type! But we don't want to make those who don't like coffee feel left out! After all "The Coffee Shop" like "any" coffee Shop it's more about the atmosphere, conversations (or silence) and everything around a cup of [insert the name of your favorite drink here] ... And this particular "Coffee Shop" is for both coffee lovers and coffee haters! I do love coffee Fridays to be about coffee... but I want to make sure we also reach those who don't like coffee at all !

Today, I have a wonderful lady here as our Featured blogger... she is one of those people you actually can almost "hear their voice" as you read their blogs! There's a sweetness to her that is just irresistible and you find yourself having to go back to her blog time after time!

I am very blessed and feel encouraged when reading her honest/genuine posts! I am sure you'll feel the same way! So ... instead of just going on and on about her let me just go directly to the introduction... her name is Laura and she is Pruning Princesses, in short Laura is a Jesus follower, a tea aficionado, a wife, an only child, and a mother to two girls. She writes about raising girls on her blog,

  ... and today, just because she doesn't like coffee... and I want to make sure everybody is included... I am letting you link back to us and link up even if you didn't mention "coffee" anywhere in your posts... bring "any drink" you want! So if you mentioned "tea, hot chocolate, iced tea, coke or any other drink -even water-" you are welcome to join Today's Party!!!

Now... I'll let Laura do the talking:

 I hate coffee. The smell is fabulous. I never could acquire the taste. If it hadn't been for that tea party in Boston, America might never have became a nation of coffee drinkers!
Winter in the Midwest necessitates that each resident has a favorite hot drink. Mine is tea. At first, I was tentative. Tea is deceptive like its cousin coffee. It can smell much better than it tastes. The first tea I loved was called Licorice Spice by Stash. It was sweet and smelled like it tasted. The aftertaste was subtle and pleasant. 

After my first baby I became a tea snob. Once a week my dear husband would give me the morning off from mommy duties. My favorite spot to unwind became a tea shop (not a drop of coffee in sight) near the capitol building in Des Moines called Gong Fu (the art of tea). Two peers had traveled the world searching for the best teas and learning about them. They passed their knowledge onto their customers.
I learned that green and white teas should never meet boiling water. And they shouldn't sit in the hot water for more than 2 minutes. They taught me that to decaffeinate a tea, pour the hot water over the tea, wait 10-20 seconds and dump the water out. Most of the caffeine will come out in those seconds. Use the same tea leaves and repour the water and enjoy decaf. I learned about the smooth clay cups used in India to serve chai. In India, the cups are thrown on the ground and broken when the drinker is done. Somehow food and drinks are better with story and expertise to enhance them. We moved from Des Moines a year after my new found love of green tea began.

As a mom, I've passed on my love of tea to my two girls. They are 8 and 10 but love tea. In drinking tea together, we've all expanded our list of favorite teas. Almost every afternoon we have tea time (so very British of us!). We switch it up regularly. Some days we do smooth mint teas, others we try American fruit teas like raspberry or peach. And recently after reading a fabulous young adult lit book called The Tea Shop Girls (so many tea facts packed into an appealing YA book for girls), we've been loving black teas like English Breakfast or Earl Grey with a little cream and sugar.

I try to keep my girls away from teas with caffeine, but their favorite tea is a white tea (which has 1% of the caffeine found in coffee) Sharing my drink love with my girls means we all squeal when are in a city with a chain store called Teavana. There are always 4-5 tea samples around the store and all their teas are loose (meaning not in a bag). Our favorites so far are Youthberry White and Jasmine Green. But good tea is useless if you make it wrong. And my girls know how to make perfect cup of tea. Let me share.

• Find a quality tea. It doesn't have to be loose, but fresh loose teas have the best flavors and they are beautiful (full of dried leaves, fruits, and flowers). Start heating your water. Know your tea. Read the brewing directions on the label because all are not equal (the first tea lesson I had to unlearn). If you can, use a clear mug, watching the color ooze is exciting.

• If you have green or white tea, let the water boil and then cool to 180 degrees Fahrenheit before using (fill your tea cup with boiling water add an ice cube or two and the water is ready for tea). Overly hot water will turn green and white teas into bitter concoctions that you won't enjoy.. And with these teas, don't let the tea sit in the water for more than 1-2 minutes for green and 2-3 minutes for white. The girls and I always add 2-3 drops of liquid Stevia to sweeten our tea though others prefer honey or rock sugar.

•  If you have a herbal or black tea, the water temperature can be boiling. The soaking time does not matter except according to your preferences, usually 4-5 minutes is best. 

• And if you are looking for an easy Chai recipe, try this one.

I know Paloma loves her coffee as do her readers, but now you can make a cup of green tea without a bitter taste. It might surprise you. 

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Thank you so much Laura for sharing some tea with us!!! Don't forget to stop by Laura's beautiful blog and get to know her better at: Pruning Princesses- Raising Girls to Love God in a World that doesn't  , make sure you say "thanks" for the cup of tea she shared with us today!

Have a great weekend!


© Paloma K.

Build your own Caillou Rocketship

So my oldest (she'll be 4 tomorrow) asked daddy to build her a "Caillou Rocketship" ... that was on Thursday so daddy sat and watched Caillou with her to know what she was talking about... well... he promised her he would get the "ingredients" LOL! (used to talking about recipes) ok... so the materials to build it and they both got to the task yesterday! and now I am going to share with you the "step by step" with pictures from Caillou and the great results!

You'll need:
1 big cardboard box (like those where disposable cups come in)
Scissors or a blade to thick cardboard
Masking Tape
Paint/markers/crayons or stickers to decorate

Cut an opening on the top (middle) of the box for the kids to get in

It will look like this

Cut on the side and towards the bottom to make a door
(You will use the top lids to make the front of the ship)

With some of the leftover cardboard pieces make the "tail fin" and wings

Make some cuts for the fins/wings to go in

Hubby secured them inside with other pieces of carboard and tape

Let your kids have fun decorating with anything they want

Now it just needs all the creativity to make it extra spacial, I mean special!

As you can see the top lids are used to make the triangle in the front

Your cat might want to play too!

Have fun!

Linking up with: JDaniel4's Mom
Simple Lives Thursday - Spain in Iowa
Weekend Bloggy Reading Serenity Now

© Paloma K.

Joyous innocence!

Look at my girls! Jumping around without any worry in the world! Isn't it sad to know... that one day... images like this one will be even blurrier in my mind? I always thought I'd always remember my little ones faces! When my oldest one (almost 4 now) was just born I thought her little face would always be with me, the expressions she made, the way she smiled... and now... only 4 years later I can hardly remember about it... and when I look at pictures of my girls only 1 year ago... I can't believe how much they've changed! How did that happen? When did I miss such a huge transformation? When did they start saying that word right? I hope I never forget it all! I hope I always remember how now my oldest says "Mommy! You are the best mommy in the whole live world" (lol) or how my little one loves kissing me and making eyes like she is angry and then burst in laughter, Oh! I am thankful for cameras that can capture such special joyful moments... their innocent giggles! I need to start some journal for the things they say! It's amazing what comes out of their mouth! it's so wonderful to see their personalities so different and at the same time so similar! they are both happy, healthy girls that want to discover the world, learn from everything around them!
My oldest one is more intuitive and cautious and my little one is just a "go getter" and almost a "dare devil" they love each other dearly and enjoy playing together and even when they fight they usually end up hugging each other! I hope  I never entirely forget... their phrases, the looks in their eyes when they discovered something new! Like yesterday that we went to the store... I can only imagine what was going through my girls heads when they saw piles of crabs piled on top of each other on ice looking almost like they were alive! I just explained... "they are crabs"... or last night when someone knocked really loud at our door (I didn't know UPS delivered up to 10 p.m.) and woke my oldest one up and she couldn't go back to sleep... I realized that was something very uncommon had happened for her... very out of our normal, peaceful routine... so I called her by me and guessing what she was thinking I hugged her and whispered to her ear: "Hijita (my little daughter - In Spanish -) I just want to let you know that there are no monsters, that we are safe, the man who came was just delivering a package for mommy and daddy and he is now in his house, daddy and mommy are ok and we are here to protect you and your sister, God takes care of all of us. You are a very special, wonderful, smart little girl and I am very proud of you! I love you very much! There is nothing to be afraid of... good night, now go to sleep" she looked at me relieved and surprised probably for how I knew what she was thinking! (Now I know how my mom always knew too!), she hugged me again, kissed me and went back to bed and fell asleep right away!

oh... these moments.. these moments I wish I could just grab in my hands, hold them tightly and put them somewhere safe where time will not make them all a blur!

Thank God we have cameras...  Thank God even when we might not remember every detail it's moments like this that form our family!

Linking up with

and her "best moment so far" link-up party! :) Thanx for inviting me to participate Jamie!

© Paloma K.

Roots and Wings!

Good morning everybody! The sheets of my bed got stuck to me so I couldn't  get up earlier! LOL! ... ah! I don't envy mommies that have kids in school... LOL! But I know I will go through that sooner than I'd like to! -sigh- It is a blessing to see our children grow... but it's hard too! Letting go and not only allowing but also ENCOURAGING them to learn more, to explore, to dream!

There is a wonderful quote I read in a great book  "A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming" that is always in my mind... 

"The best thing parents can do for their children is give them roots and wings."

As moms we have such a big responsibility! I've had "important" jobs before... I had a position of authority in the Company where I used to work... I wore many hats and I thought what I did mattered, what I said mattered... One day one of the managers of said company approached me and said:

 "I know you will not be able to be just at home when you marry, you'll NEED to work, that's who you are"

and I told him:

"If you think this Company is important for me, wait and see how much more important my family will be" ...

 I knew that would be true... but being single and without children I couldn't even begin to imagine how much!... what I do today... dressed in shorts and with my hair up... while apparently I am just washing dishes or cooking meals, when it seems I do something as "un-important" as coloring with my little girls... Now I know that what I am doing will shape lives! As I color, talk and look into my girls' eyes I can see they are absorbing every single word! every attitude I have! And while it's an awesome feeling it's also a scary one! Praise God I am not alone on this! He's given me an amazing hubby who is a great daddy and cares for our girls as much as I do... he takes the time to play Play-Doh with them, let them use his bare back as a canvas while they enjoy turning daddy into their colorful masterpiece with crayons and markers, reads stories to them and helps them memorize Bible verses! I am not alone either because I have God... and  I pray that even the mistakes I make while mothering will not be significant or that I can identify soon enough to try and fix them!

This weekend I read something that really stayed with me:

“Be careful how you speak to your children, one day it will become their inner voice.” by Peggy O'Mara

And I realized how true that is! Many times without even realizing it I know it's my mom or dad's voice what I hear inside of me... Sometimes that's what makes me do or not do things... even if it's not as clear as "would my mom approve of this" I know is there... 

But this can't scare me... this can't make me be overly cautious around me! I have to enjoy it all, be free to have fun with my girls! I know if my priorities are in order ... with God above it all... everything will be ok...

So... Happy Monday! Happy HAPPY Monday to you mom who had to wake up early today to give breakfast and get kids ready for school... I hope you smiled while doing it... and if you didn't... well... you can make it up when they come back ... smile, hug, kiss, play AND PRAY a lot!

Oh... and before I close this post I want to thank my friend Laura from Pruning Princesses for giving me "The Versatile Blogger" Award ... I am so honored... Although I would probably say that in my case it would be more like "The Random Blogger" Award... LOL! ... Thank you Laura, this is so nice... and yes... it made my Monday even happier! If you still haven't checked her blog out... you have too! She is pruning princesses too!


© Paloma K.