Piggy Toes and Family Traditions

Almost everyone knows the classic nursery rhyme for toes that goes like this...

This little piggy went to the market.

This little piggy stayed home.

This little piggy had roast beef.

This little piggy had none.

And this little piggy cried wee, wee, wee all the way home!

But, did you know that there are more rhymes than just that one for toes? When my cousins were little, I used to hear their dad recite this one over and over to them...

(Start with the pinky toe.)

Pick a pea.

Penny Roo.

Roo Whistle.

May Rossel.

And Great Tom Bumble!

Apparently, his mother used to say it to him when he was little. So, it's an old one. I have a family friend who told me one her mother would say to her when she was young. Her toes rhyme goes like this...

Old sow.

Piggy wow.

Danny diss.

Piggy wiss.

And poor little Piper!

This got me thinking about how many silly family traditions, like these rhymes, must be lost over time. So, I decided to write about them in my blog. I not only want to preserve a little piece of both of these families' traditions, but also encourage others to do the same. So think. Think hard if you have to. Is there anything your mom sang to you when you were young that you may have forgotten about until now? Is there a story your grandfather told you that you never wrote down? Or a funny saying your dad would always repeat? I bet there is. 

Little Sister

As I mentioned in my previous post, Home Tot "School", I will be taking a break this spring from my blog. The reason is because MC is getting a baby sister! We are pretty sure it's a girl anyway. 

We are very excited about adding a new member to our family. We can already tell MC will be a great big sister. She has a new baby cousin she's been practicing with. She gives him kisses, holds his bottle, and rubs his cheek and says "gentle". She's such an awesome kid! She also pays a lot of attention to my stomach, points to it and says "baby". 

We are down to two names...I have my favorite, but my husband doesn't want to choose yet. He says that he has time and it's a decision that will last forever, so he's really got to think about it. I agree that it's a huge decision, but I want her to have a name! It will be one step closer to her being here. 

So anyway, she is the reason I will be taking a break from my blog, and most likely MC's tot school. But she's a pretty good reason, I'd say!

Home Tot "School"

While wandering around on Pinterest one day, I came across the idea of tot school. Tot school? So, I began to do a bit more research and found many activities based on letters, numbers, shapes, colors, fine and gross motor skills, etc., for toddlers not yet ready for preschool. Why didn't I think of this!? Winters are very long and cold where we live, and I'm always trying to think of ideas to keep us busy, so why not tot school?

I decided to base my little tot lessons around a letter. We will work on that letter for two weeks, while incorporating other skills like colors, counting, etc. I also plan to go on outings based on the letter we are working on (for example, we just had a breakfast date together at a local cafe and ate muffins while learning about the letter m). I also plan to involve music and dancing, as we do lots of this anyway. 

We began this week with the letter m for several reasons: /m/ is one of the first sounds a baby makes, and MC loves and has many books based on moose, mice, and the moon. I also wanted to incorporate something that had to do with winter, and it just so happens that mitten starts with m too.

I turned to Pinterest for some ideas, but also came up with lots of my own. I even organized my house and added an art shelf into my walk-in closet so the art supplies are always ready to use. We read lots of books in a day anyway, so I pulled out all of her m books and put them into a special bin. Besides reading, we do two or three projects/activities a day based on the letter m. By the end of the first day of tot school, she was saying /m/ when I asked her what sound the letter m makes! 

I know there will be people who read this and roll their eyes, thinking that I'm pushing her too far too fast. And believe me, I am not trying to rush things or make her grow up too quickly. It's just that I am a creative person. I believe in making learning fun. We read, do crafts, and other fun activites anyway, so why not let her learn some new things along the way? 

So I've decided that I will NOT get frustrasted if she glues an eye ball in the wrong place, or if she just can't seem to remember the sound a certain letter makes. We are doing this purely for fun, and that's exactly what we will do...have lots of fun! 

So, watch for my posts on each letter! I'll try to post each as soon as we finish and move onto the next letter. They will be out of order (we started with m, and I plan to do p next), and there will probably be a break this spring...read my next post to find out why!

Critters Galore!

We live in a wooded area with lots of wild life, which LB often gets to enjoy. Looking for "critters" became a nightly routine for her and her dad this summer.

Moose, deer, and turkeys were only some of the critters she got to see this summer. Incidently, one of her favorite books is If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff. 

We haven't tried giving our moose a muffin yet, but I made some muffins today. If we happen to see our moose tomorrow, maybe we'll toss him one off the deck to see if he likes it. I'm pretty sure I can throw that far ; )

Start a Blog... Check!

Here I go! The first post on my new blog. I figured spring would be a good time to start blogging, since my daughter, MC and I will be out of the house more and enjoying the nicer weather. You may be wondering why I chose to call it Ladybugs and Cottage Cheese. No, I'm not some weirdo who eats bugs as a snack. I am calling it this because these are my one year old daughter's two most favorite things, for now anyway. MC cries when she realizes she ate all of her cottage cheese, and when she wakes from her nap, the first thing she looks for are the ladybugs crawling around on the windows. She's my nature loving, page turning, bug hunting, fussy eater who is absolutely the love of my life, along with my husband of course.
I am her stay-at-home mom, and I love it more than I could have ever guessed. I'd take poopy diapers over a pay check any day, as long as it means I can raise her myself, my way. Since I am with her  24/7, I try to keep life for both of us interesting, fun, and educational. I began reading other blogs and finding ideas on Pinterest, which helped during the long cold winter we just made it through. However, I am a creative person with quite a bit of classroom experience. So, why not come up with my own ideas to entertain and educate my one year old? Yes, why not? Well, I will, and I will post about it here. Hopefully my ideas will be used and enjoyed by others, but if not, that's ok. My daughter and I will have fun along the way.