It's the little things in Life

 When I was a little girl, I loved tiny little things - mostly for my dollhouse. But I also collected these small treasures.

 Now as an adult, I still love these tiny things.

 When Life gets tough, I concentrate in the details - the small things, small memories, little moments.

Both my grandparents died this year and a family member is battling Stage 4 brain cancer. I find comfort in the small details of making thsnk yous or planning a meal.

Some people fret the small stuff...not me. (Hence me being nanny )

When others stress out about details, that's when I come into my element. The small stuff is what l do, so that's when l say, "l can do that for you." it's my superpower :)

I love Schleich 's new fox baby.

Rainbow Treehouse Animal Hospital

 So when a 4 year old says, "I have a plan", you take notice.  Not only did she have a plan, she had a mission.  She wanted to make an animal hospital for her little animals, but she wanted it to be a treehouse..."So the giraffes won't have to strain their necks."

 I saw her vision and made a pattern.  I cut it out of cardstock to make it easier to trace onto the cardboard.  I just did a simple tree shape (no art degree needed here!).  I cut two and notched out the second on.

 The tree slid together then l made "shelves" out of spare pieces of the amazon box (they have the best boxes!)

 Then it was time to paint :) - time to add the "rainbow"!

 Of course, we had to have a sign..."So the animals know where to go."

 And we added a popsicle stick ladder.

 Then it was time for the animals to get care.  Two Lego Friends girls were the vets and took excellent care of the animals - both wild and domesticated.

 Stretchy Cat rested after her shots.

 Panda nibbled on bamboo after his exam.

 Giraffes, ponies, pandas, cats, dogs, llamas...all were welcome.

I am not sure how the pony got up in the treehouse - yes, I do - with the imagination of a four year old.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
-Albert Einstein

I think we will create more tree treehouses for our collection of Schleich, Papo, and Safari Ltd primates.  The possibilities are endless with this.

a day in the life as a nanny

 I adore these hippos from Papo. We hace been brushing their teeth...so fun!

 Baby Bear (also from Papo ) went with us to the Conservatory. He perfectly fits in little hands.

Looove the holiday attire the Puffs snack bottle!

How do cows celebrate Valentine's Day?

 It's funny to me sometimes how the girls that I nanny for are so close to my family.  A certain 3 year old asks me all the time - usually at breakfast or lunch - "tell me about Uncle Jerry" or "How is your Grandma doing"

Just before Valentine's Day, we had one of those conversations.

G: Your Uncle Jerry lives on a cow farm, right?
Me: Well, yes.
G: Can you send him a message and ask him how cows celebrate Valentine's Day?

Uncle Jerry's cheeky response was...with chocolate milk and Hersey kisses.

Well...guess what? The theme for this year's Valentine's party was cows.

I love how kids' brains work and how lively their imaginations are.

Tea Party Bucket List & We love chameleons

I told you that there was a Tea Party Bucket List - made by a certain 3 year old and written down by yours truly.  We added coordinating stickers so she could "read" the list anytime she wanted.

 Safari Ltd has Incredible Creatures and they ARE incredible,  The baby chameleon inspired our Chameleon party!

 We read tons of chameleon books.  Then, after nap one day, I surprised her with this party!

 She said that there were flies (aka chocolate chips) in the cookies :)

 yep, we are so fancy around here.

You can never have too many sprinkles

While making cupcakes, a certain 3 year old states, "You can never have too many sprinkes." and she proceeded to dump half the container of sprinkles onto the cupcakes.

That made me smile.

and it made me think.  Something as simple at a heaping pile of blue sugar sprinkles have her great joy.  Isn't that what Life is all about...the simple pleasures???

Awww the lessons we learn from kids!

Let there be toys at the table

I remember when I was little, my mother would always say, "No toys at the table."  I remember being upset that my Barbie or a favorite stuffed animal couldn't join me at lunch.

Well, I say...Let there be toys at the table!

As my girls grew up and as a nanny, I have banished the No Toys at the Table Rule.  I believe that kids eat better if their toys are on the table and many good conversations are sparked from the toys' presence.  There have been many imaginative stories made up about animals at the table as well as conversations about what different animals eat.

So let the toys come to the table...you may be amazed what happens.

The Lorax

 I love the book The Lorax.  I love the message that it shares about our environment and trees.  A certain 3 year watched the movie and loooved it, too.

 I made the trees from party straws and pom pom balls and a hot glue gun - easy peasy.  Teddy Grahams just HAD to be included, right???

Little Red Riding Hood Party

When a Little Red Riding Hood tea party was suggested, I took pause.  Then, I dug some bottle brush trees out of the Christmas box, found a McDonald's Happy Meal Toy Madame Alexander doll, some woodland foliage and animals and...ta-da!

 This would totally make a cute birthday party theme, too.

 Before the party, we read several different versions of Little Red Riding Hood - including a Russian and classical versions.  Anytime, you an tie play or a party back to children's literature is a good day.

Monkeying Around

 I have always been intrigued with children's imaginations.  When we decided to take a snack to the park and some plastic vending machine monkeys tagged along, it became a party and a playscape.

 Children do not need fancy, expensive toys that have flashing lights and make noise to have a vivid imagination.  In fact, the simpler, the better.

Tinkerbell and Fairy Tea Party

Tea Parties are a Big Deal in this house :)  A certain 3 year old has a "tea party list" - no lie.  It's a list (ever-growing) of themes that she would like to have for her next tea party.  She is always planning.

 When she said Tinkerbell, my heart skipped a beat.  I love Tinkerbell and knew just what to do for the centerpiece.

 Fresh baby's breath in scrapbook paper wrapped soup cans, moss rocks found at the dollar store, a Tinkerbell and Fairy set of toys found at the Disney Store, animals, and wooden mushrooms make this an enchanted tea party.