The Tomato and the Duck

H.O.R.S.E. with Daddy Teachable Moments Tuesday

2011-05-31T14:08:00.000-04:00

Tuesday is here already! We had a great weekend with family. We went fishing and sat around the campfire making smores and looking for shooting stars. It was a wonderful time. When we got back last night Pickle was very excited to be out of the car and to be able to play with his toys.

Tomato Papa and Pickle started up a game of H.O.R.S.E. with the little basketball hoop in our backyard. ( You know, take turns shooting the ball. If you miss you get a letter. ) While playing, Tomato Papa told Pickle that he got an H. Pickle ran to the magnetic letters ( that we still had out from this activity.)

Tomato Papa and Pickle got out the letters they needed and spelled out the words as they played.

I think this idea is so great since little ones will understand the game better if they see the letters spelling out the word instead of keeping track in their head which may be too advanced for them. Great idea Tomato Papa and Pickle!

By the way, Pickle won the game.

( Disclaimer: Please ignore or jungle of a backyard and the bad night pictures! We were tired after our trip! Give me a break:)

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips by Tomato Mama

2011-05-27T11:23:00.000-04:00

Looking for a quick and easy dish for your memorial day weekend? Fruit salsa with cinnamon sugar pita chips is always a hit, plus it is quick and easy! I brought it to our church small group this past week. It was a great mid morning snack and I was really glad to have an excuse to make a big batch of it! I'm so glad that we are coming into the spring/summer produce time of the year. So delish!

Thanks to a great coupon from Driscoll's I found online ( see, coupons are not just for junk!) this was a pretty affordable recipe as well.

You will need...

strawberries

blackberries

kiwi

pita bread

butter (melted)

ground cinnamon

sugar

squeeze of lemon or lime ( I prefer lime. I think it tastes better with the kiwi.)

Cut up your pita bread into triangles and spread on a baking sheet. Make sure what used to be the "inside" of the pita bread is facing up. I find it holds the butter and cinnamon sugar better this way. Brush the pita triangles with melted butter.

Sprinkle with come cinnamon sugar. Bake in the oven. I tried 300 degrees and they crisped up nicely after about 10 minutes. Bonus, the house smelled amazing!

Chop up the fruit into fairly small pieces. I'm sure there is probably a faster way to chop it, but spending time in the kitchen is my zen time so I did it the old fashioned way.

Mix the strawberries, kiwi, and squeeze of fresh lime juice before adding the blackberries. They are so fragile that they survive better if you leave them for last.

Scoop the fruit salsa with the pita chips and enjoy!

Sky Watching by Tomato Mama Teachable Moments Tuesday

2011-05-24T12:50:00.000-04:00

Pickle is an active little guy. He has been since before he was born. What a squirmer! Now he spends a lot of time running, jumping, spinning, and rolling. He loves to move. When my little guy decides that he wants to sit down and snuggle, I drop everything and enjoy it! You can't miss opportunities like that! After playing in the yard last night, he crawled up on my lap in my comfy deck chair. We snuggled with his "cubby bears" and looked up at the beautiful trees and sky.

We talked about how the trees are changing. We watched a bee buzz around lazily. We spotted a beautiful cardinal. Pickle thought he saw lots of alphabet letters in the clouds. We got to see lots of airplanes and talked about why they make lines. It was such a sweet moment. I tried to drink it all up to remember forever!

I had my camera with me and Pickle did some photography. All the pictures on this post are his work. Love them!

Purple for a Cause by Tomato Mama

2011-05-22T10:12:00.001-04:00

I'm late in sharing this because it actually happened on May 12, but it's too cool not to tell you about! My sister, Zumba Girl, has an amazing blog about living with Fibromyalgia. May 12 was Fibromyalgia Awareness Day so she asked people to send her pictures of themselves or their pets wearing purple in support of those who suffer from this "invisible disease."

Go here to see the great pics she got and to check out her blog. Thanks again to the family and friends to contributed pics for her.

Chocolate! (Got your attention didn't I?) by Tomato Mama

2011-05-20T11:00:00.000-04:00

   Tomato Papa loves chocolate. When his birthday rolls around he always wants a chocolate cake, with chocolate icing, chocolate filling, chocolate ice cream on the side and chocolate anywhere else on the cake that I can think to sneak it in.
   This year I made him my version of a cake I saw in Martha Stewart Living. Mine is not as fancy. I'm no Martha, but it was cute! The problem is that I've got tons of M&M's in the house since then. I think they have been multiplying. Pickle also got many little packets of the mini ones in his easter basket. Pickle and I are not really chocolate people. ( I know! We are strange!) A little chocolate goes a long way for us. Tomato Papa is trying to ignore all the chocolate, but we need to use it up.
   Besides M&M cookies and maybe chocolate covered strawberries with the little M&M's are the only ideas I have come up with so far. Help! Please send me your ideas for using up some M&M's! Send me an email or leave a comment ( it's ok to link to your blog) and let me know what to do! I would love to feature your recipe as well!

Wordless Wednesday, Sunny Day Excursion. . . by Duck Momma

2011-05-18T07:17:00.001-04:00

Alphabet Excavation by Tomato Mama Teachable Moments Tuesday

2011-05-17T14:04:00.000-04:00

Here is a quick and fun learning activity you can do outside with your little one. Pull out those magnetic alphabet letters we all have living on our fridges and bury them in your sandbox. Have your little one go on a alphabet hunt. As the letters get "found" talk about their names and sounds. Spell words or your child's name together. Sort by color or letter. You can get creative with how you dig them up also. We started with the shovels but were soon using the toy bulldozers and cranes to "help rescue" the letters. It was a blast and it was a great way to spend the morning outside together.

Rainbow Water Table Update by Tomato Mama

2011-05-11T15:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I posted about our Rainbow Water Table Activity. It was fun, but the ice cubes I made with one drop of food coloring were not as colorful as I hoped. Pickle and I made some "new and improved" colorful cubes last night and used about 3-4 drops of food coloring this time.

The result was definitely more vibrant. Messier too! (Which makes it more fun in my opinion.) We still ended up with a decidedly green result, but it was lots of fun and a great way to cool down and learn at the same time on a hot day.

Water Table Rainbow by Tomato Mama Teachable Moments Tuesday

2011-05-10T15:49:00.000-04:00

Around here we love our water table. I bought this Step2 WaterWheel play table 2 summers ago and I have to say that it was money well spent. We play with it in lots of different ways including with the toys it came with ( boats, spinner funnel, and cup) as a toy car wash, we've rolled balls down the slope and shot golf balls into it with his toy golf clubs ( water hazard!) It's a great way to cool down, but it also a great learning experience.

Last night I filled up an ice cube tray and put a little food coloring in each section to make colored ice cubes and put them in the freezer. Today we had a rainbow of ice cubes waiting for us. We filled up the water table and I let Pickle decide what color cubes to put in.

We watched them melt and guessed what color the different cubes would combine to make. I gave him a spoon and he stirred them up.

When we ran out of colorful ice cubes we dumped in all the melted water that was left in the tray and got this cool swirl that Pickle stirred up.

Pickle wanted more ice cubes. I was out of colorful ones so I pulled out some regular ones and let him get some small motor practice putting them in the water one by one with some tongs. I love how this

activity evolved and that he had so much fun that he didn't want to stop. I'm going to make some more cubes tonight with more food coloring and see if we get a more vibrant result. I will post an update tomorrow!

Tonight at bedtime we will read WartHogs Paint: A Messy Color Book. By the way, this was not as messy of an activity as it might seem! I have one blue fingernail, but the rest of it washed off. I dressed Pickle in dark clothes that would not stain just in case.

2011-05-08T19:44:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day! The road to motherhood was not an easy one for me. It took some time and a lot of prayers before I got to hold Pickle in my arms. There are also 2 little ones that I will never get to hold in my arms. I look at his sweet face and marvel at my blessings that I get to be his Mama. It is the best job in the universe.

Happy Mother's Day to Duck Momma on her first Mother's Day! I'm so lucky to have you for a friend! You are a fabulous Mommy and friend!

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-08T08:24:00.001-04:00

Happy Mothers Day to all the mommas out there. Its a very special thing to be a mom. And to Tomato Mama's mom and Duck Momma's mom, we love you! Thank you for being you!

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Wordless Wednseday. . . Playtime by Duck Momma

2011-05-04T07:00:00.003-04:00

Teachable Moments Tuesday: Library Day!

2011-05-03T14:28:00.000-04:00

As a teacher I know the importance of a print-rich environment for a child learning to read. A child who grows up in a house that has lots of books, magazines, newspapers, lists, and comics ( that's for Tomato Papa) is more likely to be a reader. Pickle is definitely growing up in a print-rich environment. I love books and read every single day of my life. We get the newspaper. We read online. We read together before every nap and every bedtime. We even have toy books that he can take in his bath!

On top of all that reading at home we also visit our local library every week. We actually had not been to the library in 2 weeks this time because of all the beautiful weather we have been having so we were very excited to get new books!

We have a really cute library near us. It is adorable inside and out and the people who work there are always so nice. It is a treat to get to go there, especially with Pickle. We really look forward to our trips there together and fill up a big bag full of books every time we go. We always stop at the bridge to look for froggies and fish on our way in.

Pickle is really into Clifford books these days but we got a good variety of choices. Have you read the Karma Wilson Bear books? Love! They are so adorable! It's so much fun to stumble across new books to love!

Our library has a fun coloring table with windows to the beautiful courtyard. We colored and bird watched for awhile.

Pickle was so excited about this book that he had to stop and read it right then and there! Then we went to check out our giant stack of books. Our library has self-scanners so I have my assistant help me. He does a great job!

The stack was pretty big today!

Imperfectly Perfect by Tomato Mama

2011-04-28T16:45:00.000-04:00

I love 3 year old art. 3 year olds don't care about "perfect." They don't care about "getting it right." They are enjoying the experience. They are experimenting. They are learning about color, texture, materials, and creativity. Pickle loves to paint. He has been on a big painting kick lately. We have painted little dog and cat statues, Lightning McQueen everything, and paper. Most of the time he starts out strong painting the object in front of him, then gets distracted by seeing what happens to the colors in the water jar when you mix them and swirl them. He becomes obsessed with that and the original object is forgotten.

Everything usually ends up black or gray. No matter what colors we start out with, it is so much fun to mix and swirl that we get a dark end result. Do I mind? No! I would rather have these messy, unfinished, black blobs than some perfect piece of work that is not really his. I'm not a mom that feels like my kid needs to "color inside the lines." There is plenty of time for that later in life.

When I look back at the pictures and objects that I keep from this age, I want to see what he was interested in and loved to do.. He will never be this age again. Pickle at 3 is adorable, creative, willful, energetic and beginning to be independent. He is sweet, funny and silly! When I look at these items, that is what I will see. Time letting little ones learn about creativity is always time well spent!

An "Egg"cellent Tradition by Duck Momma

2011-04-22T12:02:00.000-04:00

Easter is only a couple days away, that means tomorrow night is egg dying night! It will be a first for little Goose but a very long standing tradition in my family. But making the eggs look beautiful is only the beginning. My grandmother was Greek and she taught us all the traditional egg cracking. Everyone has their special egg, and finds a partner. You take turns tapping egg ends (pointier end to pointier end and fat end to fat end). The person with the least cracked egg wins! We have spread this madness to many families through the years, and maybe now to yours? It is so much fun and if you have a perfect (no cracks)egg at the end, you can save it indefinitely. The insides just dry and turn into a rattle almost. My Grandma always kept mine year after year. . . Come to think of it maybe she let me win just so she could have my egg. . . (I miss her)

Grandma also taught us another important tradition. Its how we always greet each other every Easter. I am going to attempt to spell it, I apologize sincerely for my terrible Greek spelling and punctuation. (Verbally we have it mastered, writing it. . . not so much)
First Person: "Christos A'Nesti"
Second Person:"A'Li thos A'Nesti"
Which means (if spelled correctly ;-) )"Christ is Risen" "He is Risen indeed"

May your Easter be blessed and full of your own family traditions! Now I have to go fulfil my role as Easter Bunny intern and make sure we have everything for Goose's Easter Basket!

Peep Family Portrait by Tomato Mama

2011-04-21T10:53:00.000-04:00

Pickle and I were doing some Easter crafting yesterday and I decided to whip up some felt peeps! I had some very peep looking colors in my felt stash and I got a little carried away. ( Expect to see more in a future post. Some of them are gifts and I don't want to spoil the secret yet!) Behold our family, peep style. I was excited to use the very Lucille Ball polka dot felt that I had been saving for "my" peep. I am a huge I Love Lucy fan so it's very appropriate. I tried to use peep colors for Tomato Papa and Pickle too.
I had some peeps in the house for "research purposes" so I sort of free handed a shape similar to a peep on paper as my pattern. Then I used the blanked stitch to sew them up. See up close picture of process here
Felt Conversation Hearts.

I dotted on some eyes and nose with fabric paint for a finishing touch!

Wordless Wednesday by Duck Momma

2011-04-20T08:57:00.000-04:00

Teachable Moments Tuesday: Spring is Sprouting

2011-04-19T08:00:00.042-04:00

I love gardening. Growing tomatoes in particular, but we grow all sorts of things around here in the summer. Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, basil, cilantro, peppers, strawberries, zucchini, and marigolds this year so far. We get most of our vegetables from my cousin's greenhouse, but I like to start some of our plants from seeds so that Pickle can be in on the process from the beginning and see how plants work.

Starting plants from seeds is so exciting for a little one to see. I got Pickle involved with choosing the seeds at the store, scooping the dirt into the peat pots and planting the seeds. He is in charge of watering them everyday and we run to see the seedlings first thing every morning to see how they are doing. It's so much fun to see the surprise and pride in his eyes to see how much they grow from day to day. He makes sure to show off his seeds to Tomato Papa when he gets home from work too. He's a great little farmer!

Now I know that some of you out there in blogland already have plants in the ground, but we are in a cold area and we got a rude reminder why we can't plant this early. We had SNOW yesterday! Blech. No more snow in the forcast, thankfully. Here is an updated shot of our "crop." Can't wait to get them into the ground and into containers!

Its a ZOO out there! Wordless Wednesday by Duck Momma

2011-04-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

Teachable Moments Tuesday: Shopping List

2011-04-12T16:22:00.001-04:00

I've mentioned before that I've got a super-shopper for a son. I'm so lucky that he's so patient and helpful. I'm a lucky mama. Tomato-Mama that is.

For this week's shopping trip, I gave Pickle a job. I cut out pictures of the things we were going to buy from the sale's ad and glued them to a piece of paper. I did the cutting and Pickle did the gluing. Then we wrote the number of each item that we were planning to buy on or next to each item.

We took the list with us to the store and Pickle was in charge of checking items on the list. He felt so important and it gave us a chance to talk about lots of things, practice counting, read the names of the items together, read the prices, and match items to the pictures. All important skills for a preschooler!

Here is a closer picture of the list with some of his "marking" on it. We are going to make this a weekly activity.

Puddle Walk by Tomato Mama

2011-04-11T16:22:00.001-04:00

What a weekend! We had what I can only describe as a little bit of summer this weekend. It was heavenly. We played mini-golf, grilled, played in the yard, tried out the new water gun and wore shorts. In April!!! In Indiana!!! It all led up to an amazing thunderstorm last night that resulted in a 3 year old in our bed most of the night, and lots of puddles on the ground!

Pickle and I put on our beloved rain boots and went for a walk. We talked about the buds on the trees that will become leaves, admired the daffodils, tulips and crocuses, and counted spring robins. We found a few puddles to splash in too. It is so much fun to walk hand in hand with my little guy and talk about what we saw. Never let a good puddle go to waste!

A Week in Pictures and Poetry (Saturday) by Duck Momma

2011-04-09T07:00:00.004-04:00

Pictures worth more than a thousand words :

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

-Robert Munsch

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.

-Vincent van Gogh

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.

-Rajneesh

A Week in Pictures and Poetry (Friday ) by Duck Momma

2011-04-08T07:00:00.001-04:00

An Old Irish Blessing

Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.
Go raibh cóir na gaoithe i gcónaí leat.
Go dtaitní an ghrian go bog bláth ar do chlár éadain,
go dtite an bháisteach go bog mín ar do ghoirt.
Agus go gcasfar le chéile sinn arís, go gcoinní Dia i mbois a láimhe thú.

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

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A Week in Pictures and Poetry (Thursday ) by Duck Momma

2011-04-07T08:03:00.001-04:00

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost

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A Week in Pictures and Poetry... Wordless Wednesday by Duck Momma

2011-04-06T07:21:00.001-04:00