Ethan's Girl Troubles

I didn't think I'd be writing this post for a long, long time.

 

A really long time.

 

But last night after Olivia was tucked into bed and it was quiet in the house, Ethan told me about his girl trouble.

 

Yes, he has girl troubles. Did I mention I didn't think I'd be writing this post for a long time?  Afterall, he's only five...

 

It all started last week, when the parents of one girl in his class told me that their daughter referred to Ethan has her 'boyfriend.'  Now to protect the 'innocent,' I'm going to change the names here, so let's call this girl Suzy.  Ethan loves playing with Suzy, and she loves play with him. She's a sweet girl, nice manners, good parents - and that's all just groovy by me. 

 

During a field trip last week, I had the chance to speak with Ethan's teacher about all the girlfriend/boyfriend talk in the preschool classroom. 

 

"It's mostly the girls" she told me, "the boys are a little oblivious."

 

"Isn't that always the way?" I quipped, "Women do like labels for things."

 

So I brushed it all off as some silliness that would run it's course.

 

Until last night.

 

"Mumma, today Sydney told me she's my girlfriend," Ethan said, looking a little bit worried. 

 

Amused, I replied, "What about Suzy?"

 

"Well, I was going to be done with Suzy and let Sally be my girlfriend but then Sydney told me she's my girlfriend." Hmmm, I'm not sure I like where this is going...

 

"She said she was my babe," he continued.  Despite the sincerity on his face, or maybe because of it, I couldn't help but giggle a little.  I tried to stifle it, but failed.

 

"Your.... babe?" I choked out, wondering if I'd heard that wrong.  But no, Ethan nodded his head solemnly.

 

Now Sydney isn't necessarily my favorite influence in the classroom...

 

"How do you feel about that," I asked, hoping for a moment more to wrap my brain around what he was telling me and come up with the appropriate response.

 

"Well, I don't know," he shrugged looking confused. And small. And cute. And FIVE.

 

"Ok, well, you're five and - "

 

"Sydney is five, too," Ethan interrupted.

 

"Yes, you're all five and you don't really have girlfriends and boyfriends until you're at least fifteen."

 

"Fifteen?" He repeated.  I nodded.

 

"But she said she was my babe," he said. 

 

"Yes, you definitely don't have babes until even more than fifteen," I replied.  Ethan thought about that for a minute.

 

"I like Suzy and Sally and Sydney, too.  But I really like John and Jerry, too."

 

Then it dawned on me - he wasn't talking about 'girlfriends and boyfriends,' he was talking about 'best friends.'

 

"Oh, you can have lots of best pals, Ethan, lots of different friends are good."

 

He nodded then snuggled up and pointed to the book on my lap.

 

"Can we read now?"

 

"Yes," I replied, relived that this conversation was over... for now, and enjoying some snuggle time with my sweet five-year-old boy.

 

This morning as I was dropping the kids off at school, we saw Suzy and Sally in the hallway.

 

"Hi boyfriend," exclaimed Suzy beaming a great big smile at Ethan, and that anxious feeling returned.  I wondered what Suzy would say when she found out Sydney had declared herself Ethan's

'babe' and how Ethan would handle it.

 

Ethan may be just talking about best friends, but the girls are definitely talking about girlfriends and boyfriends.

 

 

No-Sew Paper Streamers {Free Printable}

I love the look of paper streamers sewn onto a thin string or ribbon, but I don't own a sewing machine (nor do I know how to operate one). For Olivia's Minnie Mouse themed birthday party, I decided to make some streamers and set out to find a way too do it without sewing.

 

The answer, is glue, of course. 

 

If you want your streamers to be double-sided, I recommend a scrapbooking tape runner, which doesn't need to dry like a wet glue, and doesn't leave a gap between the papers like hot glue will.

 

Materials:

Paper punches in various sizes

Scrapbook paper

Coordinating ribbon

Hot glue gun/glue sticks

Glue dots

Scissors

 

Instructions:

Start by punching out the shapes you want to use.  I used a mixture of circles in various sizes, and scallop-edged punches.

 

Next, decided where you will want the streamer to hang and measure the length needed.  Cut the ribbon to length.

 

Decide what sort of pattern and spacing you want - you can opt to randomly place, or make yourself a quick template for spacing.  (I did about 1-inch between the cut-outs and made little marks on a piece of cardboard that I was using as my template).

 

To create a one-sided streamer, dab a dot of glue on the ribbon and press the paper cut-out into the ribbon and repeat in whatever desired pattern you have until finished. 

 

Now if you wish to make your streamer double-sided, flip the ribbon over and use the glue dots to match the cut-outs on the backside until finished.

 

I recommend storing these hung to keep the paper from bending and the ribbon from looking crumpled.

 

Once you get the hang of these, the ribbons are pretty quick to make and very inexpensive.  If you want to make your streamers a little fancier, you can add a mist of glitter spray, stickers or other embellishments.

 

If you want to go with a Minnie Mouse theme, you can download my free printable below and use a 2" paper punch.  Pair these cut-outs in coordinating solid colors in various sizes

Classic Blueberry Pancakes

When Ethan was about Olivia's age, he ate blueberries hand over chubby little fist. Of course, nowadays, he won't touch them with a ten foot pole, and Olivia has been on a blueberry strike herself.  But one of the things I love about making pancakes on the weekends is that they are easy to customize to everyone's tastes (click here to see some of my favorite pancake recipes).

 

Now, blueberry pancakes are my Dad's favorites, and Mr. Juggling Act is a big fan, too.  These classic pancakes start wth my Simple Pancake recipe - you may have seen this before if you're a fan of my Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce.  Here's how they're done:

Classic BlueBerry Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries

 

Directions:

In a bowl with a spout, whisk the eggs, then add in the milk and vanilla.  Sift in the dry ingredients and mix to combine, taking care not to overmix.

 

On a lightly greased electric skillet, pour the batter into little circles.  Drop in a small hanful of berries - if yours are large, you may want to slice them in half.  Fry the pancakes until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.

 

Serve your pancakes with lots of butter and syrup, of course, or for a truly special treat, a big spoonful of whipped cream .

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Hummingbird's View Giveaway

 

Don't you just adore these beautiful prints?  My pal Lisa blogs over at Wine and Glue and has an awesome Etsy Shop - Hummingbird's View. 

 

Lisa says, "Whether it be nick names, your baby's birth stats, a family joke, a silly song, or something else of great meaning, I love turning memories into pieces of art that can be hung in your child's room or somewhere else in your home." 

 

I'm just in love with so many of her pieces!  And now she's giving Juggling Act Mama readers a chance to win your choice of one of the above prints:
 

Forest Themed Nursery Art

A custom cut piece (such as a song lyric, or a quote)

Kiddasurus Rex Dinosaur Cut

Birth Stats Cut

Twinkle Twinkle Cut Art

Giving Tree Cut Piece

Friends Print

 

Now friends, if you simply MUST have a piece now, click the button below and use code JUGGLINGACT25 and recieve 20% off your purchase!

 

Enter below for your chance to win!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monette Pangan Prize Pack Giveaway

Today, I've got a fun little giveaway for all my book lovers out there!  Monette Pangan's new children's book has just been released, and she's celebrating by offering a fun prize pack to one lucky reader.

But first, here's the Summary:

It's great to be part of a large family but sometimes, when you're the smallest, it's not always fun. Erin is a screamer! She is the youngest child in a large family and it’s the only way she knows to get herself heard. See what happens when the screaming no longer works and Erin decides it’s time to try something new!

 

It sure sounds like a cute book, and can you stand the adorable paper doll you can download and print?

 

Buy the book at Amazon

 Monette is offering one lucky winner a prize pack that includes a book tote, keychain, signed paperback, a mini collage album, and $25 Amazon Gift Card

 

Born and raised in the Philippines, Monette Pangan came to the United States in October, 2009. She is married and has two sons.  This is her first children's book. To learn more about Monette, check out her Blog, Website, and Facebook page.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



A GWR Publicity promotional event paid for by Anchor Group Publishing. Giveaway is sponsored by the author.

Pretzel Bites with Hugs and M&M's

These little pretzel bites are super tasty and an easy homemade party favor. I wanted to keep with my Minnie Mouse theme so I opted for Hershey's Hugs instead of the traditional Rolo candies. Then I got a bunch of M&M candies in shades of pink to finish them off... Too cute, right?

Unfortunately, I made them one night after work while the kids were finishing dinner and I was a little distracted. I wanted them to set up quickly so I could bag them all after I put the kids to bed so I stuck the tray in the freezer.... And forgot about them.

For 2 weeks.

And didn't have them for the party.

Opps.

Well friends, not to worry, they were still tasty (once thawed). There's something almost magical about the salty pretzel and chocolate combination, isn't there?

Pretzel Bites with Hugs and M&M's

Ingredients:

Square mini pretzels

Hershey's Hugs

Pink M&M's

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

Start by lining a cookie sheet with parchment paper, then spread out the pretzels so that they are all flat. Next, unwrap the Hershey's Hugs and place one on each pretzel (this is the most time consuming part, and it's nice to have help unwrapping, if you can trust your helpers not to eat all the chocolates, ahem!)

Bake the chocolate-topped pretzels for about 3-4 minutes.... You don't want the candies to be completely melted, just soft. Remove the tray and quickly, but carefully press one M&M candy into the center of the chocolate.

 

Refrigerate for about 10 minutes before serving.

Easy Party Food Picks

Here's a super easy and inexpensive way to dress up your party - pretty pom-pom food picks. I love the ones with the metallic flecks because they remind me of fireworks. You can do this whole project in about 5 minutes for less than $3!

 

(Note: I got my pom-poms from Hobby Lobby - the package of 24 1" glitter pom-poms was $1.99, and they have all kinds of colors, including multi-color packages.  There are larger ones, but I think that one inch is the perfect size.)

Easy Party Food Picks

Materials:

Toothpicks

Glue gun/glue

1" glitter pom-poms

Directions:

Once your glue gun is hot, put a teeny dab of hot glue on the end of your toothpick. Stick the toothpick down into the pom-pom taking care not to push it all the way through. Let them rest for a few minutes so the glue sets up before using. 

How easy is that? You can knock out about 20 of these in just minutes and they make your food table so pretty by adding a pop of color.

 

These little picks work great for cut fruit, cubbed cheeses, olives, pickles, anything you can stick a toothpick into easily.