Happy Leap Day!

I never really thought of Leap Day as being anything except an extra day in February. Today I was thinking how fun it would be to do something fun with Olivia. She is too young this year but on the next Leap Day, Olivia will be nearly 5 and a perfect age to do some activities with.

Here are some things that I have found that would be fun to do. Most have a frog theme with them, you know....leap. These come from the Familyfun and Childfun websites.

Enjoy!


Sherbet the Frog
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Lime sherbet
Green decorators' gel
Junior Mints
Green gummy ring candy
1. To make one, set a scoop of lime sherbet on a small green paper plate (trim the plate to resemble a lily pad first, if you like).
2. Cut one green gummy ring candy into quarters and place the four pieces under the sherbet scoop for feet.
3. Set a Junior Mint candy and half a gummy ring in place for each eye. Finally, add a green decorators' gel mouth and nostrils.

Find a Leap Frog
Buy some little plastic frogs (they are very inexpensive at walmart and the like). Make up about 6 boxes of jello following the directions on the jello package, black works good. I put the frogs in a big rubbermaid container and pour the jello over the frogs after it has jelled. We tell the kids that the frogs are living in the black swamp and they have to dig in the dirt to find their frog. They love sticking their hands in the cold slimy jello.

Leaping and Jumping
We are going to play leap frog and hot potato using a frog, we have to pass him quick because he is so squirmy! (Just tell the kids that, don't use a real frog :)

Frog Straw Game
I have cut out two frogs out of tissue paper you have two teams and they each have a straw. The kids have to pick up the tissue frog while sucking in on the straw and run to the other side of the room then they run back and the next player has to do it again. First team sitting wins.

Kangaroo Jumping Fun
For kangaroos, have pillowcases that you have sewn a pocket on the front and have a baby "Roo" to go in it. The kids have a relay race like the old potato sack races but if baby Roo falls out they have to go back and do it again.

Froggy Snack
Have cupcakes frosted with green frosting and have different jellybeans and decorations to make frog faces and red shoestring licorice for the tongues.

Leap Year Jump
Jumping from hula hoop to hula hoop (each hula hoop representing a different year).

Leap Year Song(Tune of Bingo)
There was a year called Leap Year,And February was its name-o,L-E-A-P Y-E-A-R,L-E-A-P Y-E-A-R,L-E-A-P Y-E-A-R,And February was its name-o.

General Leap Year Info
The time it takes the earth to spin once on its axis is a day. The time it takes the earth to complete its annual trip around the sun is a year. Unfortunately, these units of time don't divide evenly. This is the "spin" problem: if the earth spinned just a bit slower, a year would be exactly 365 days, instead of 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and a little over 45 seconds. If a day was a minute longer than it is, we wouldn't need Leap Year Day.

Origami Leap Frogs
Work with the children individually or in small groups to make origami jumping frogs. Instructions are here.

Hair Thursday

I have never been a fan of my own hair. So, I signed up to be on Hair Thursday (way back in September) and today is my "hair appointment".

Please head over to Whoorl and vote on which style you think would be best for me.

Window watching

Olivia loves looking out our nearly ancient storm doors in the playroom; especially if there are birds, cats or our dog to watch.

Learning to Juggle

I was never interested in learning to juggle. I enjoyed watching jugglers at the circus, county fair, or when they came to our class in elementary school; but it wasn't something that I HAD to learn. I have a mental list of things that I would love to learn, try or do. Juggling is not on it.

Now I wish that I could juggle. Not necessarily balls, pins, or rolled up socks, but life! Since I had Olivia, I have been struggling to find a balance where I can be wife, mother, all of the other titles that I have, and still be me. There are so many things that I am involved in or want to be in, that I am simply having a hard time keeping it all put together.

I am a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency so with that alone I am busy. This takes up every Sunday and most Tuesday evenings.

I do Jazzercise 3 to 4 times a week at the community center. I really feel that it is important that I do some "me" things. Plus I love that fact that I have lost all of the baby weight plus an additional 20 pounds. I want to keep that off. I am also doing this to set a good example for Olivia. If she sees me being active then she will be active too.

I have been (will officially happen tonight) nominated as Captain of our DUP camp. I love getting involved in things, and this shouldn't take too much time, but it is still a little overwhelming that I will be in charge.

I am also involved in DAR but have not been nominated to any committees (this could change).

But the part that I am mentally struggling with is several groups that I have put together at church. There are other people in charge, thankfully, but they are classes and groups that I want to be involved in. There is cooking, arts/crafts, A Girls Night Out, Gardening, Book and a Play Group. I want to be able to go to these, but most of them conflict with Relief Society Presidency Meetings or DUP meetings. The only one that I will be able to participate in will be the Play Group because that is during the day.

Those are the things that I am juggling in the evenings. During the day I am trying to be a good mom to Olivia, provider to the daycare kids, and wife to Eduardo. There is only so much time to clean, cook and dance around or roll on the floor (her new fav. when we play) with Olivia.

To make things worse, and it really shouldn't, next week Eduardo will start his new job and that means that he will be home in the evenings. Since we were married, he has always had a job where he works in the evenings, getting home around 10 or 11pm. Don't get me wrong, I am excited that I will have him home in the evenings. We can actually be a family, have dinners together and go to bed at a decent time. But I am afraid that I will feel guilty about going to Jazzercise, meetings, and fun groups when I should be at home.

I am home all day and I need an out. I know that something has to give. I don't want to give anything up. Can't we simply add a few more days to week (naturally non work days) and a few more hours to each day? I know that would solve my problems!

Happy Anniversary

Us--with the same beautiful view that we had from our table last night. We celebrated our anniversary at "The Roof"; delicious food and an unforgettable view!

Parent & Tot Swim Class

Olivia's Walking!

Olivia took her first steps at the beginning of the month. This past week she has really taken off. It is actually difficult to capture pictures of her walking. She is very quick!