Crazy Dr. Seuss Hats

March 13th, 2012

dr-seuss-hats

These crazy Dr Seuss hats can be made by children of any age. You could decorate a green one for Saint Patrick’s Day. Many stores sell them for one dollar around Saint Patrick’s Day, so they don’t cost much. You will also need a hot glue gun and craft supplies that you can find around your house.

Make sure that an adult is present to use the hot glue gun. Let your children decide where they want to put each item. My daughter made a nest on the top of her Dr Seuss hat, and put some fake birds into it. Then she made a face on the main part of the hat with pom poms and pipe cleaners. She added some butterflies.

My oldest son stuck some feathers to his hat, adding a face and placing pom poms around the entire edge of the hat. His one was green and looked the most like a St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun hat. Now all he needs is a rainbow and a pot of gold. And he needs to be short and stubby and chew on some clover leaves. Yes.

Next up is the crazy Dr Seuss hat that was orange and red. I could hardly look at it without going blind from the clashing colors. My son hot glued all kinds of plastic animals and other nonsense to his hat. As you can see, he is crossing his eyes in the picture, adding to the jovial nature of the picture. (He doesn’t normally look that frieky.)

Last but not least, my youngest son made a face and hot glued a big pom pom to the front of his Dr Seuss hat. We also sewed a twirly propeller-type thing to the top. We picked it up at a dollar store the day before we made these crazy Dr Seuss hats.

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Posted in Art, Early Childhood, Fun Spring Activities | 2 Comments »

Ireland

March 12th, 2012

ireland

People told me that I would feel at home in Ireland because everybody has red hair. Not so. I looked for days before finding someone with red hair, so the proportion of red-heads is similar to the United States. I traveled to Ireland during my winter break when I was at the University of Sheffield in England my senior year of college. I was studying a class on James Joyce, and my big writing project was on a work of literature that took place in Dublin, Ireland.

Because it was winter, it was overcast and dreary. I went to the National Library of Ireland to look up books on James Joyce. I had to show my passport to get in, and the library issued me an ID card. I spent my mornings at the library and my afternoons retracing the steps of the main character in the book I was studying.

ireland-path

During my last three days in Ireland, I went to Galway, Sligo, and Cork. In Galway, I walked to Yeats Tower, which looked kind of like a castle, with literary connections. I was so stupid that I forgot to check the winter hours, and it was closed. I had walked 15 miles, and my legs felt like two aching sticks. Then I did something even more stupid: I accepted a ride. It was because I was about to collapse. Thankfully the old man who gave me a ride to the bus station was nice.

The city of Sligo had Yeats connections as well, and it looked beautiful, even in the mist. I went up to a taxi driver and asked him how much he would charge me if I hired him for the day, and could he take me to anywhere interesting, especially castles, abbeys, or literary connections. The older-looking man said that he would charge me 30 pounds for the day, which was much lower than I thought. He took me all over the place, and we had a great day. The man chatted about his wife and kids, and I even sat in the front seat of the taxi.

castle-walls

My final destination was Blarney Castle in Cork. I loved running around the castle, getting lost in the corridors. The sun came out for an hour or two, and the surrounding countryside looked gorgeous. I kissed the Blarney stone, which is supposed to grant eloquence. That was definitely my favorite place, of all the places I visited in Ireland.

If you ever go to Ireland, do not go in the winter. It looks dreary in general, and it’s raining constantly. But the country is definitely green, and I enjoyed riding on the trains all around the country on the last three days of my ten-day excursion. It wasn’t really a vacation because I was writing a paper the entire time, including when I was on the trains.

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Posted in Travel | 6 Comments »

Spring Articles, Pictures, and Videos

March 9th, 2012

spring-articles-for-kidsHere are some fun spring articles, pictures, and videos of activities I’ve done with my children over the years.

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Posted in Fun Spring Activities | 2 Comments »

Getting Better Sleep (Part 2)

March 8th, 2012

getting-better-sleep-2

After researching sleep for over two years, I wanted to write a list of practical ways for getting better sleep. I heard these suggestions over and over again in articles and the media. What they don’t say is that you should try to eliminate as much stress from your life by trusting God. That’s step one. Then here are some practical ways to promote better sleep:

  • Go to bed at the same time each night, and get up at the same time each morning.
  • Exercise, but not too close to bed time.
  • Take a hot bath before bed.
  • If you wake up in the middle of the night, don’t look at the clock. It will only wake you up further. Just roll over and go back to sleep.
  • Don’t drink caffeine mid-afternoon onwards.
  • White noise can help, especially if you live in a loud neighborhood.
  • If you wake up every time your spouse turns over, you might need a bigger bed.
  • Make sure your room is completely dark, with no light sources.
  • Breathe in deeply through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. This can relax you.
  • Get more sunlight on your head during the day.
  • Don’t go full-tilt all day long, or you will have trouble decompressing when it’s time to go to bed. Instead, take breaks throughout your day, so that you feel caught up in your thoughts.
  • Eat dinner at least 2 or 3 hours before bed, so you have time to digest your food. But don’t go to bed hungry either. The best combination for a snack before bed is protein and carbohydrate, according to most articles.
  • Supposedly the computer stimulates your nervous system, so you shouldn’t be on the computer half hour before bedtime. The same goes for television.
  • I had a friend who did stretches before she went to bed, and she said she slept better.
  • A cool bedroom temperature helps you fall asleep and stay asleep.
  • When a traumatic experience happened in my life, I listened to soft Maranatha praise music as I fell asleep so I wouldn’t get nightmares. Soft music like Enya might be good to play half hour before bedtime, just to decompress.
  • Another time when I was having trouble sleeping, I had my husband read Scripture to me. God’s Word is soothing to my soul, so I was finally able to go to sleep when he did that, after not sleeping for days.

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Posted in Exercise and Fitness | 20 Comments »

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