Mommy Makes Toys {Dyed Pasta}

Things have been a little quiet around the blog this month. Sorry about that. I've had blog post ideas bouncing around in my head, but since I haven't organized the Blog Plans section of my Home Planning binder it's hard for me to be purposeful about getting those posts written. My desire is to have this little planning section in my binder so that I will be more consistent in my blog posting; however, we don't have a printer at home or a local FedEx Kinko's so I've got to send Brendan the files to print off at his office...and I'm just lazy and haven't gotten around to doing that.

Anyways...this post is not about my desire to plan blog posts better, but about a fun little activity Charlotte and I did together recently.

One of my goals for this year is to plan more purposeful learning activities for Charlotte since she is now at an age (currently 17 months) where she is much more engaged with the world around her. One blog I follow [Totally Tots] recently posted instructions for making dyed pasta. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would work great for us. I could easily find the needed supplies, and I knew Charlotte would enjoy playing with the little pasta shapes.

Dying the pasta was super easy! I was also pleasantly surprised with how quick the pasta dried even in our crazy humid climate. The finished pasta...




There are really LOTS of different things we could do with the pasta, which I'm really excited about. The first thing we did was to keep the different colors separated in small plastic containers. Then, I just set Charlotte up at the table and let her do whatever she wanted to do. :) Well of course the first thing she wanted to do was eat the pasta (I even did this right after a large snack to avoid that)! So, we established that this pasta was not to be eaten, and then she just had fun playing with it.







Charlotte played with the pasta for 30 minutes and would have kept playing longer if I hadn't decided to move on to something else. This really gave me a great confidence boost as I look to plan more activities for Charlotte in the future. Dyed pasta = Success!

[If you're at all interested in the instructions for dying pasta, here's the website.]

What I Want to Accomplish in 2011

What is the due date for New Year's resolutions? I have no idea, but I hope I'm not too late. :)

My friend Lily posted her New Year's resolutions this week and asked people to share their resolutions as well. Hmmm, I thought "I've had all these goals for the coming year bouncing around in my head. Why don't I write them down (or use my new iPad as a note-taker!) and keep myself more accountable to achieving those goals?".

These aren't necessarily your typical New Year's resolutions, which for me normally means trying to change something and once I fail, I give up completely. Instead of resolutions, these are goals for 2011 - things I would like to see myself accomplish in the coming year.

I'm excited about having goals for the year because I think it will help me filter what is important and not-so-important to include in my life right now. Example: I am considering doing X activity, but it doesn't really fit in with any of my goals for the year. Well then, I say "no" to that activity and have time for things that DO help me achieve these goals.

Goals for 2011

1. Keep in touch with family and friends better than I did while in Spain, and use different means of communication (written cards, letters, packages; Facebook & blogging; Skype dates; and email).

2. Become a better organized homemaker and mommy. Create a motherhood mission statement, a homemaking binder, and add structure to my day so that I don't wander along aimlessly.

3. Create a warm, welcoming, and peaceful home out of our new 675 sq.ft. apartment in HKG.

4. Find community in HKG and a place to serve in our church.

5. I SO desire to be more patient and less angry...especially with Charlotte and Brendan.

6. Read 20 books that help enrich my faith and roles of wife, mother, and homemaker, and are pertinent to my current life situation.

7. Wake early enough to have morning devotion/quiet time (prayer & Bible reading) and get myself ready for the day.

8. Pray consistently for family.

9. Encourage Brendan more. Become more understanding of who he is, his struggles, his work, etc.

10. Prepare/plan activities for Charlotte that are fun, engaging, and mindful of her personality. Learn more about homeschooling.

11. Blogging goals - more consistent, more planning, learn more about technical aspects, and begin Charlotte's blog (more about that another day). :)