I really am still here and I appreciate your comments and emails wondering about us! Man, oh, man has life been busy over the last couple months! To catch you up, here is a quick top ten list of things I haven’t blogged about:

1. Part 2 of our trip to Disney World, dedicated to our trip to the Bippity Boppity Boutique. It was the most amazing part of our Disney experience, and we’ll definitely be making appointments again next time we’re there!

2. My grandmother’s death. I’ve started this post in my head a million times since she passed away on January 2nd, and I just can’t do it. I can’t put it into words because my words won’t do her life or my grief justice.

3. Heading to Blissdom! In just 10 days, Sunshine Doodle and I (and my little sister!) will be hopping a plane to Nashville for the fabulous Blissdom Conference. I’m excited to connect with other bloggers, spend time with my sister and some of my best friends, and enjoy some kid-free time too! Oh, yeah, and Harry Connick, Jr. is performing live just for us. My husband says I’m giddy!

4. The fact that a certain baby is killing my sleep habits and therefore my productivity. Yeah, I went so far as to buy a Keurig single-cup brewer because I NEED the caffeine to get through the days!

5. Big changes coming! We are in the process of selling Sean’s Tastykake route. He will be a stay-at-home dad while I continue to be a work-at-home mom, and we’ll homeschool together. He is going to be fabulous at it, and I think my girls will be pretty lucky to have both of us at home! I’m looking forward to being able to focus on work during work time and my family during family time, so we’ll be a building a new office in the loft as soon as the sale goes through!

6. The Blizzard of ‘09. Holy moly — 2 feet of snow. The girls spent a week playing outside in the snow, coming in only to warm up, and they LOVED it! Sure hope we get another good one before the season’s over!

7. 31 Days of Organizing for a Better 2010. I took on this massive series at Organizing Your Way this month, and it’s been a lot of fun! Writing a full post every day has been challenging, but I’ve learned a lot about myself as a writer and blogger. (But I am kind of looking forward to the end now that we’re on the home stretch!)

8. Chubby, chubby cheeks. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the rolls on this baby since she nurses half the night, but don’t you just want to squeeze her?!

9. A homeschool update. Eh, it’s going  okay. Been trying to balance a lot in preparation for Sean selling the business and me earning the primary income, so we’re a bit off-kilter again. We’re not behind, and I know plenty of people who unschool succesfully, especially in these early years, but it’s not my preferred style and I’m looking forward to getting back on track with an actual schedule.

10. Done, done, done. Well, I can’t say that we’re actually done, but for the first time, I do not feel the baby itch. I’m pretty sure what I feel is the opposite of a baby itch…I’m enjoying Sunshine Doodle but looking forward to moving past the baby stage!

Visit Oh Amanda! for more Top Ten Tuesday!

P.S. I think I should start blogging here again just to get in my daily allotment of exclamation points…LOL!

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

We went to Florida to celebrate my grandmother’s 75th birthday and then made a 36-hour stop at Disney to pack in as much as we could in that time…

And we weren’t even done yet. More to come…

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

Raccoon’s Christmas tells the story of two raccoons who set out to steal Christmas presents from three homes. At the first home, they encounter a young squirrel who shares the hope that we have because of Jesus’ birth in a manger. Next, they discover that they’re the answer to prayer when they accidentally break into one of the raccoon’s mother’s home! And finally, they discover the power of new beginnings from an old bear.

This is really an adorable story with a great message for children and adults alike, and I hope to see more from Jay to add to the collection!

You can order a copy directly from Cuckoo Publishing, and I think there’s still time to get your copy in time for Christmas!

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

Sweet Doodle

Well, thanks for asking! LOL!

It’s actually going really, really well, but the reason I haven’t written this post before now is because it’s taken us until very recently to find our groove. (The flu might have played a part in that taking even longer than I expected.)

We actually made some pretty drastic changes this month to the way we spend our day, and those have made a huge difference. Now, we get up, do morning chores and eat breakfast, and then we head straight upstairs to the loft/playroom and spend the morning up there. I had Sean build a makeshift table when I first came up with the idea, so we read on the couch and then move to the table for our workbooks.

Benefits of doing it this way:

:: The downstairs living area stays clean and straight! YAY!

:: Sweet Doodle can easily move between sitting at the table with us and playing with toys, so she’s not nearly as disruptive, which means I can pay attention to Monkey Doodle AND Pumpkin Doodle so that neither feels left out. (It helps that they both have started taking a much more independent approach to their workbooks where they don’t want as much help.)

:: I don’t get distracted by things I need to do around the house during school because we’re “isolated” in the loft.

:: When I put Sunshine Doodle down for a nap downstairs, I don’t have to worry about 3 little hooligans waking her up.

:: The girls can get out new toys and put the old ones away much more easily since they don’t have to drag them up and down the stairs.

:: Did I mention my downstairs stays clean and straight?

Moving upstairs has made our whole day feel more intentional and less chaotic. We still haven’t quite figured out a rhythm for the afternoons, but we’ve been spending our mornings up there for the past week-and-a-half, and it’s had a big impact on everyone’s attitude and our ability to focus on school each day.

As far as the nitty gritty, I’m still having trouble fitting in formal language arts. Pumpkin Doodle writes and makes up stories regularly on her own, so I’m not too worried about it, but I would like to incorporate more dictation and copy work, at least a couple times a week.

Overall, I feel good about where we are. We may need to do a little bit of catching up in the New Year since we ended up taking 2 months off, but we’re all enjoying it, and I think that’s what matters most at this point!

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Michelle Wong, the winner of the “Lights, Camera, Color” prize pack!

I love to color, and the girls and I had so much fun with Crayola’s new coloring page maker, “Lights, Camera, Color,” which lets you turn your digital photos into coloring pages!

We’re heading to Florida in a few weeks for my grandmother’s 75th birthday, and we’ll be spending a day at Disney World while we’re there. I can’t wait to take all of the pictures of my girls with their favorite characters and make them their own special coloring books for Christmas! I also think this would be a fun way to make a letter book for preschoolers using things they recognize from around the house.

The kid-friendly, easy-to-use online application at Crayola.com allows older kids to upload their digital photos and transform them into unique coloring pages, adding fun designs and pictures that turn them into totally customized creations.

Specially-marked Crayola crayon boxes (48, 64, 96, 120-ct. as well as the 150-ct. Crayon Tower) will include a code that lets you print custom coloring pages. Each code found in 64-count boxes and larger is good for six months of unlimited prints. The 48-count box has a code that is good for three months of unlimited prints.

One lucky Doodles’ Place reader will win a Crayola “Lights, Camera, Color” prize package, including:

:: Crayola 150-count Telescoping Crayon Tower

:: Six-month pass to “Lights, Camera, Color”

Every reader has two methods available to enter this contest (for a total of up to two entries):

1. Leave a comment. What is your favorite arts and crafts activity with your kids?

2. Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so. If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’re already subscribed.

Prize:
(1) Crayola Color Me prize package, as described above

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, 11/21. I’ll use Random.org to select the winning comment. Winner will be notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well!

Crayola and MyBlogSpark provided me with a “Lights, Camera, Color” prize pack to review for myself and one to give away to a reader.

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

(I have no idea why my pictures have these gray areas at the bottom !)

There’s just something about fall crafts that I can’t resist! Even though the last 2.5 weeks have been hectic and stressful with fighting the flu, we’ve done more crafts than we’ve done in a while.

And these fall suncatchers are one of my favorite projects (of course, anything made with tissue paper squares is a winner in my book!).

To be honest , I did them on a whim one afternoon, so I kind of made it up as I went, which is why ours are a little wonky and uneven. It wasn’t until after we were done and I saw how cute they were that I took the time to actually make a template for them (and if I didn’t have a newborn and 4 sick kids, I would have made a template for you all to print out — sorry!).

But these are SO easy.

Materials:
:: Green, blue and brown construction paper
:: Wax paper
:: Tissue paper squares in fall colors
:: School glue
:: Foam brush
:: Scissors

Instructions
1. Take a piece of green construction paper and a piece of blue and cut both in half.

2. On the blue, cut out either a hand (for a turkey) or a large flower shape (for the top of the tree). The easiest way to do this is to cut straight up from the bottom to start, since your green “grass” will cover that cut anyway.

3. Take your green paper and cut it in half in a wave pattern, as if it were a small hill.

4. Cut out a trunk from brown construction paper if you’re making a tree.

5. Cut a piece of wax paper to fit behind the cutout. It should be larger than the cutout but smaller than the blue paper itself.

6. Spread glue on the wax paper and layer tissue paper on it. Spread another layer of glue on top. We use small foam craft brushes for this.

6. Glue the layers together.

7. Hang in the window and enjoy!

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

This giveaway is now closed! Random.org chose comment #35 as the winner, Amy from Amy Loves It! Amy, I’ve sent you an email!

Despite my commitment to decluttering our home, children’s books continue to be one thing that I just can’t resist. I love surrounding my kids with books that capture their imagination, teach them about the world and give us an excuse to sit and cuddle on the couch!

Cheerios is committed to helping parents provide their children with a healthy, nutritional and educational foundation, and they’re once again bringing books to the breakfast table with over six million children’s books to be distributed free inside Cheerios boxes.

All five books are written for 3-8 year olds and include both English and Spanish, and my girls find it hilarious when I do my best to read them the Spanish story after we’ve read the English version!

One lucky Doodles’ Place reader will win a Spoonful of Stories prize pack from Cheerios, including:

:: A box of Cheerios

:: A $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble

:: A complete set of this year’s Spoonful of Stories

Junkyard Fort, written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long and Dave Gordon
Join Gabriella, Jack, Melvin, Ted, Lucy and the other Trucktown characters as they make their own fort, using things found in the junkyard. Ages 4-8.

Tea for Ruby, written by The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser
Wherever Ruby goes, a bit of disaster seems to follow. But one sunny morning, things change when the postman brings Ruby an amazing invitation: would she like to have tea with the Queen? Ruby needs to polish her manners, and quickly. Ages 4-8.

Sleepyhead, written by Karma Wilson and illustrated by John Segal
In this rhythmic bedtime story, a cat is the parent and a teddy bear is the child who doesn’t want to go to bed. All ready for bed with teeth brushed and story read, Sleepyhead teddy tries anything to prolong his bedtime; books and his quilt provide ample fodder for his imagination. Ages 3-7.

Ballyhoo Bay, written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Derek Anderson
Mira Bella, an artist who teaches painting and sculpture, loves Ballyhoo Bay and what it offers: sun, sea, sand, and sky. But one gray day a billboard arrives, announcing an impending development that would take all the fun out of the place. Read along to see if Mira Bella and her art can save the day and Ballyhoo Bay! Ages 4-8.

What´s Under the Bed?, written and illustrated by Joe Fenton
Young Fred cannot stop worrying about the scary creature that might be hiding beneath his bed. Finally summoning the courage to peer under his bed, Fred, with his cumbersome glasses, sees that the only thing there is Ted, his friendly Teddy Bear! Ages 3-7.

Every reader has two methods available to enter this contest (for a total of up to two entries):

1. Leave a comment. When is your favorite time of  day to read with your children?

2. Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! Leave a separate comment letting me know you have done so. If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’re already subscribed.

Prize:
(1) Spoonful of Stories Cheerios prize pack, as described above

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, 11/14. I’ll use Random.org to select the winning comment. Winner will be notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well!

Cheerios and MyBlogSpark provided me with a Spoonful of Stories prize pack to review for myself and one to give away to a reader.

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

Sweet Doodle

Would you pray for us? Early last week we were hit with H1N1 (it’s been confirmed with a swab test), and it’s still hanging on.

Pumpkin Doodle seems better at this point, but Sean just got it last night, and Monkey Doodle’s cough returned with a vengeance. I’m not sure if Sunshine Doodle’s is still progressing or if we’ve already seen the worst of it, but obviously we’re watching her very carefully.

I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep all week, and I’m running on fumes. Prayer would be much appreciated.

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.

I was so excited when I was given the chance to review the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition movie through One2One Network. This 2-disc package includes both DVD and Blu-Ray discs of “the one that started it all!”

Unfortunately, I failed to remember how very scary this movie actually is, and we didn’t make it very long before Pumpkin Doodle (who is very, very sensitive to anything tense or even remotely scary) asked me to turn it off.

We did, however spend some time playing some of the games, which the girls loved (although I’ll admit that I find DVD/Blu-Ray games frustrating to play), and I’m confident that when the girls are older we’ll enjoy this classic together!

My husband got a Blu-Ray player last year for Christmas, and I’ve kind of thought his obsession with it was a little bit silly. Sure, the picture is better than regular DVD, but I guess I’m just not visual enough to really care all that much.

Well, all of that changed when I was reading the material that came with the Snow White Diamond Edition…

:: Up to 6x better quality than DVD
:: 7.1 Surround Sound
:: Immersive activity with games and special features
:: Kid proof, more scratch resistant
:: Plays both Blu-ray and DVD discs
:: Blu-ray also plays on Sony Playstation 3 players

Can you guess which one changed my opinion of Blu-Ray? Yep, it says, “Kid proof, more scratch resistant“!!! Pumpkin Doodle loves to put CDs and DVDs in the player, but it’s a constant struggle to make sure they don’t get scratched in the process. Having scratch-resistant movies would definitely make my life simpler, and you can bet I’ll be opting for Blu-Ray movies in the future!

If you have a regular DVD or VHS version of Snow White already, you can print a $10 off coupon using the barcode from your current case. You must print your coupon by Friday 10/30 and redeem it by Saturday 10/31, though, so be sure to do that ASAP!

What is your favorite Disney movie? Do you own the classics?

©2010 Doodles' Place. All Rights Reserved.