Once again my ever talented brother-in-law has posted wonderful pics on his website… and they just happen to be of my new little bundle of joy.    As always I am just floored by Kev’s talent as a photographer!  Thanks Kevin!   Go check them out at Organic Photography

My Lily just loves to paint.  (And I’m glad because I don’t have an athletic bone in my body.)  So yesterday I got out the paints, paper and brushes and I let her have at it.    She created several masterpieces…

Here is a lovely example of some Abstract work by Lily.  Notice how I have made the executive decision not to have her in clothes… You’ll see why I did this very soon.

Yes!  Here is the reason why she has no clothes… So she can teach us all how to tummy paint!

Step one: Paint your Tummy

Step Two…

Stamp your tummy on the paper… Do we need to see another example?

Yay for tummy stamping artwork!

And then I get her into the tub before she can touch anything.

Remember: Creativity isn’t always clean, but it is always fun and always important!

It’s pumpkin time again.  About this time of year I get very, very excited!  I am a huge pumpkin nut… and even though my pumpkin patch produced nothing but flowers (I’m not the greenest of thumbs) it did not dampen my enthusiasm for this pumpkin season at all!

It has now become tradition to head out to Roland, MB for the Giant Pumpkin Festival and get a picture with the giant pumpkins.  It’s a pretty awesome sight.  Here are some pictures of my mini cupcakes with this season’s giant pumpkins.

Here are a couple of brag photos that my ever talented brother-in-law Kevin Dyck of Organic Photography (Saskatoon) took of our new addition this past week.  Be sure to check out kev’s website!

One week ago my Baby Cupcake celebrated her 2nd birthday!!!  I just can’t believe how time flies.  Officially now she will be known as my Mini Cupcake because Baby Cupcake # 2 is expected any day now.

What an exciting August!  Mr. Cupcake and I are racing to finish bathroom construction and figuring out where we put the crib hardware before this baby comes….

But in the mean time… here are some pictures of my Mini Cupcake enjoying her 2nd Birthday party.

Something I have been working on as Program Coordinator has been a 40 Developmental Assets workshop for parents and community members here in my neck of the woods.  Truthfully, when I began this position, planning for this event was a big thorn in my side.  However, now that it is the day after the event and after if was a huge success, I have changed my mind about it being a thorn.

The assets are designed to create a better environment for young people in communities everywhere – and research has shown that youth who maintain their assets do better in every aspect of their lives.  Research has also shown that youth everywhere are scraping by with a minimal amount of assets to build their lives on!  This isn’t just a shame – it’s our responsibility to change our piece of society and build a better future for our children.

I won’t elaborate too much on this non-cupcake related topic – but I will say that if you have kids, know kids or are around kids at any point – then you can be an asset builder – head over the the Cornerstone Site and leave a comment!!

Last night my daughter woke up upset.  Bad dream? New teeth?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that around 4 AM this morning I poked Mr. Cupcake until he got up to settle her… and suddenly (as happens all to often in our household) our bed had three. 

“Suckie?” Asked my little cupcake. (Her word for soother)

“No Suckie tonight baby.” I replied.  Hoping that maybe tonight she would fall asleep without it and we could finally get rid of the thing!

She considered this for a moment before asking, “Lion?”  Her lion teddy bear being almost as important as her suckie.

“Yes baby, you can have Lion.” I gave her the bear and we tried to settle down for the night.  Mr. Cupcake already snoring beside us.

This is where we had some difficulty.  Baby Cupcake rolled… and she tossed… and turned upside down!  She tried backwards, sideways and even stuck her feet in my face! (While Mr. Cupcake slept comfortably.)  This went on for about an hour.  Finally, just as I was beginning to doze, a frustrated Baby Cupcake sat bolt upright.  She had clearly gotten an idea.

For as I lay there, happily dozing off to sleep, I felt a little body begin to climb over me (feet in my face, as usual) and then ever so carefully lower herself to the floor.  Before I even had time to scoop her back up again she had me by the arm and began to pull me out of bed.  (I have now learned that a determined toddler has a very strong tug.)

Baby Cupcake pulled me until I got out of bed!  Then she tugged me down the hall at which point she marched me right out into the kitchen where, in total darkness, she parked me directly in front of the cupboard where we keep her dishes…  “What does she want?” I thought.

But, before I could say a word, Baby Cupcake had begun to point at the cupboard.  Then, very assertively for an 18 month old, she declared to me her intentions.  “Suckie!”  Was all she said.

Half astonished and half dozed I opened the cupboard and obliged.  Baby Cupcake took her suckie, promptly placed it in her mouth and marched right back to bed without me.

Getting rid of the ”Suckie” is going to be harder than I thought…

Before I begin I will give you a bit more background information about me, Mrs. Cupcake.  My name is really Jennifer, I live in small town Saskatchewan Canada and when I am not baking cupcakes or being a busy mom to my 1 1/2 year old daughter I work a few hours a week at a wonderful place here in town known as the Parent and Tot Centre.  It’s a great program where parents can bring their pre-schoolers and babies and mingle with other parents while offering story, craft and snack time for the youngsters.  Last year this program opened my life up to many new friends and this year I was given the opportunity to work there.  Aside from the obvious bonus of being paid to play with my daughter and her many new friends I also get sent to some very great conferences.

Yesterday was a Family Literacy training conference where I started the process of being able to bring families, outside of schools and libraries, the chance to become more literate.  Wow.  That sounds incredibly boring, doesn’t it?  That’s what I thought too at the start of the day.  I thought to myself, ‘What possibly could I do to bring literacy (which I felt was limited only to reading and writing) to a bunch of one and two year olds?’  Well I was very wrong.

“Literacy is about more than reading and writing – it is about how we communicate in society.  It is about social practices and relations, about knowledge, language and culture…  Those who use literacy take it for granted – but those who cannot use it are excluded from much communication in today’s world.  Indeed, it is the excluded who can best appreciate the notion of “litercacy as freedom”. – United Nations

Sounds pretty darn heavy when you put it like that, doesn’t it?  But let’s stop and read that again especially the second line:  “It is about social practices and relations, about knowledge, language and culture…”  That means everything, people.  Everything.  From the day your child learns to identify you as their parent to the day we teach our students the Alphabet.  Baking a pie, building with blocks and the language of love and affection are all expressions of a literate person.  Isn’t that just amazing.

For me this meant breaking down everything I do-  or should I elaborate – Everything that I have learned to do in my life little by little and to be able to see it from another perspective.  For instance:  My daughter lives in a world of wonder and exploration.  She has only experienced a fraction of the skills she will need to master before learning the alphabet  and yet, what she does know, amazes me beyond belief.  My daughter cannot yet read, she can only speak a few words but she can build a block tower, she knows the noise and duck makes and she has learned that the word please means: ‘I get something’ ; She is literate.  Not illiterate simply because she cannot read.

The course yesterday brought home the point that our job as parents to bring literacy to our children is more than just reading to them (while that is still SO important)  it is also respecting the fact that everything we do with our children is a form of teaching literacy.  Play, song, discipline and love.  Wow.   At the end of the day I took home a lot of inspiration to try and make some differences in my world, this important quote, “We all have something to learn; we all have something to teach” – Unknown

and a few fabulous references and books which I will share with you.

The Course was Introduction to Family Literacy put on by the Saskatchewan Literary Network. 

For those of you out there interested in how to get involved in other provinces check out The National Adult Literacy Database to find programs in your area.

Don’t underestimate the power of baking with your kids.  Think of all the things you can teach by just baking a pie: Measurement, how to follow directions, time, patience, togetherness… the list can go on and on.  To get started read How to Make an Apple Pie and See the Worldby Marjorie Priceman

Literacy comes in all forms at any age.  It is never too late to expand on what you know by learning something new.  Read Jeremiah Learns To Read  by Jo-Ellen Bogart

This book had me on the edge of tears by illustrating the important point of generational learning.  Read Oma’s Quilt by By Paulette Bourgeois

I am still here.  I have always been here.  Unable to even look at a cupcake for the last few weeks.  Why? You ask.  Well, for the last month or so I have been suffering horribly with morning sickness.  (All for a good cause, I assure you!)  My diet for the last bit has included such things as water and air.  Delicious.  I could go no where near a grocery store without… well, you know.  And cupcakes – oh my gosh – I have never hated a baked good so much as to not be able to look at it, write about it or at very least – even update my blog about it.  Ick.

Today however I am feeling medicated and oh so much less queasy.  Enough to read up on all the cupcake news I have missed in the past few weeks.  I will keep updating the blog on things… I’m not sure as of what yet… maybe cupcakes will return to my creative desires in the weeks to come… but as for today – I’m thinking cinnamon buns and turkey bacon are sounding really good…

ciao!

I am so excited to boast about Baby Cupcake’s Christmas photos.  A) Because it’s my duty as a mother and B) because they were done to perfection (as usual) by my ever talented brother-in-law Kevin.  (Especially since we didn’t really have an appointment… We just kinda showed up for dinner and said, “Take pictures…. NOW!”) Thanks a bunch Kev!  Click here to visit his site.