Legacy of Pearl

Motherhood

LegacyOfPearl — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:28:51 PST

“

When a child is born, a mother is born!”

”

Happy Mother's Day to the Motherless and Childless!

LegacyOfPearl — Sat, 08 May 2010 23:45:25 PDT

Today is Mother's Day! A Happy Mother's Day to everyone on Earth including the Mother Earth herself!

All of us are coming from a Mother even if we don't have a good relationship with her or don't have her anymore. The Mother's Day itself was initiated about a hundred years ago to honor the wish of a mother (Mrs. Jarvis) who passed away. So I want to take a moment to honor the day of those who are not fortunate to have their Mothers or Children with them anymore. Hope you have the courage to embrace the day and take time to relive your memories today. They are those moments of past reflections which keep us connected to our reality and anchor us back to who we are coming from. We only forget if we ignore the past.

"Life can only be understood by looking backward; but it must be lived looking forward” - Soren Kierkegaard (1813–1855)

Bubble Fun for the Youngest Kids

LegacyOfPearl — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:55:26 PST

Who doesn't like bubbles? I love them and my little one does as well. We had tried a bunch of different bubble makers before and these are the winners. I actually think blowing bubbles thought him how to blow well so he was able to blow out the candles on his second birthday cake without a problem.

The squeeze'n'bubble is our new favorite as it is not messy. We were at the beach making bubbles for half an hour this week. You don't even have to blow if there's wind. You just squeeze the bottle and the wind handles the rest for you.

Family Hike

LegacyOfPearl — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:19:40 PST

Sunday hikes are a great activity to relax, have fun with the kids and get some fresh air. Today was an excellent day after the fresh rain.

San Diego is in particular a good town to enjoy hiking all year round. I like San Diego Hiking Club's website for information on the good hikes in the area. They also have programs that allow members to meet other hikers if you like to hike and would like to join their outings.

On a day like this, I like to have a worry free outfit that I can roll around on the grass and play in the dirt with my son. My jeans and boots are covered in mud in this picture, but not so obvious thanks to the sunset lighting.

The batwing sweater is a lot of fun with the risk of looking like a maternity sweater. It is warm and doesn't constrain my arms when I'm in play mood.

My scratched green riding boots is in the "only for hiking and camping" part of my closet. No more motorcycling for us after husband's accident. I love green boots in winter and had my eye on a pair of green Frye boots since the beginning of the year, but I doubt that it will take priority on my list for the year. Maybe next year...

How about you? Do you have a favorite color? I think mine is obvious given how much I talk about green on this blog.

KidKraft 2 in 1 Activity Table-Lego Compatible

LegacyOfPearl — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:25:21 PST

We purchased ours at Sears on sale. The best current deal I've seen for this table is at Amazon.com.

CLICK HERE to reach it!

Activity tables like train tables and lego tables are a lot of fun for young kids and have a lot of learning benefits. It perks the imagination of young brains, helps them use their small motor skills and helps them focus their attention to the activity for longer periods of time.

If you think of purchasing an activity table and just don't have the room for a huge train table or specialized table for each, I recommend KidKraft 2 in 1 Activity Table-Lego Compatible.

We received our couple of months ago and it provided constant entertainment for our little son. It also keeps us off the ground when we're playing with him. This particular table fits the bill for us. The fact that it came with a small train set and legos was a surprise. On the down side, the table is quite small and were aware that he wouldn't use it beyond toddler years. I've seen some negative reviews on the construction of the table before we ordered it, but it hadn't been an issue for us. I think this is the table to have if you want to invest only a small space in your house for this purpose. I certainly wasn't going to replace my coffee table with a train table!

We ended up adding a wooden city set and an extra train set to the train table so that we had more variety. Same with the lego side. We added a small set of legos and some cars. It works great this way.

The most interesting part of how we use it of course came from my son. He sets the train set on the lego building side and constructs buildings and parking structures for his cars on around the train set. In this way, he can pay with everything at once. I would have never thought of this! Creativity of thinking little minds at work always impresses me.

Teach your toddler to be independent with Montessori techniques

LegacyOfPearl — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:36:54 PST

In the process of finding my son a preschool, I have read about many options on different teaching methods. Montessori was an early winner and I wasintrigued by the approach. After reading a number of Montessori books, I'm completely drawn into this style of teaching.

Teach Me to Do It Myself by Maja Pitamic has been the best read out of all. If you have a preschooler, this is the book to own. It has so many good ideas on how to teach independence on life skills like eating, getting dressed, potty training.In addition, it has many other work and play activities that is sure to keep you and your little one busy.

Hope you like it as much as I do and find the techniques successful. Below are some other Montessori books that I enjoyed reading.

Healthy Cake for Kids Birthday Party

LegacyOfPearl — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:24:24 PST

My little son had his birthday and we had a party for him at home. I decided that having a healthy cake option would be better for them and also save us from sugar-rush craze after the cake. So I decided to use my son's favorite carrot cake as the cake topped by vanilla pudding.

Here's the recipe I used mixing everything with a mixer:

Mix 5 eggs with 1.5 cups of brown sugar until the sugar melts.
Add 1 cup of shredded raw carrots and 1 cup of chopped walnuts. (Use food processor for easy shredding and chopping)
Add 2 cups of flour and a tablespoon of ground cinnamon.
Add a small spoon of baking soda.
Heat the oven to 350F and bake in the middle shelf of the oven in a cake pan.
Use a knife to test for the consistency to see if it is done. If the dough sticks to the knife when you pull it back, it is now done.

I used vanilla pudding as a filling and topping.

After it cooled down, I sprinkled some cinnamon and added Elmo accessories. I found some crayon-shaped candles at the drugstore that looked exactly like Elmo's. Although the cake didn't look professionally made, I still can declare it a success as it tasted delicious.

Daily Steal: Gap Maternity Jeans for $12.99

LegacyOfPearl — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:41:49 PDT

GAP Cropped Maternity Jeans.

Hip and versatile.

Down from $56.50.

Doodle It Up!

LegacyOfPearl — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:16:34 PDT

Studies show that kids benefit from visual activities in a number of ways. In addition to boosting your toddler's creativity, imagination and visual thinking, it brings you closer to your child's inner world making it easier for her/him to communicate with you.

There are so many alternatives to drawing with your child. Here's what we use at home with our two year old:

Doodle books: Fun, simple, creative with a set of ideas to copy and color
Magnetic doodle boards: No need for messy crayons or paper. Ideal for traveling or bringing on the car.
Pen and Paper: You get the idea... the possibilites are endless! :)

Wish you a wonderful fun time with your little one! You can do it as early as they can sit.

Happy Mother's Day!

LegacyOfPearl — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:36:35 PDT