Toddler Learning.

Sophia is a Toddler.  Wow.  Seems like a false statement, but it's true now!

She is such a smart girl {but aren't our kids always so smart to us?}

Here's a few things she can do, on "prompt":

• Say and Wave Bye Bye.
• Give Kisses
• Say:  "Mama, Dada, Papaw {sounds more like Pap Pap}, Mamaw {very similar to Mama, but more drawn out}, Go, Gone, Ball, Car {sounds like "Ca"}.
• When you ask her what a Cow, Kitty Cat, and Lion say, she responds with their "noises".
• She can point to Eyes, Nose, and Mouth on people, dolls, animals.  {But not her own yet!}
• Take her Velcro closure diapers off {this skill is one that I'm not particularly proud of!}

I don't know WHO taught her to drive!

I'm sure there are a ton I'm leaving out, but basically I'm stating that I feel like Sophia is hitting her developmental milestones right on time or even a bit earlier.  

With that being said, Rob thinks that we should start implementing a "Learning Time" everyday.  I don't think he's necessarily suggesting an hour long study time, but more of a 15 minute session of "ABC's, 123s, reading, singing, etc."  I tend to disagree.  I feel that Sophia and most children, learn through constant interaction.  We break out into song {whether it's ABCs or something else} randomly through the day.  We count, talk about colors and shapes as we play.  

So, I'm turning to you.  

How do you teach your young Toddlers?

Just a few things to share.

There's a few things that I would like to share with all of you today!

• First, I am so happy to have each and everyone of you following my blog from Mom Blog Monday!  It means so much to me that you take the time out of your day to read a bit of what I have to say... and enjoy entering great giveaways!  {I'm not naive... I know the giveaways are one of the funnest parts!}
• My new design is *almost* finished!  I can't wait to share it with you all... I'm in love!  Once it's finished, I'll start the transition to Wordpress.  It will all be unveiled at once {if all goes as planned}!  What can you expect from the new So Easy Being Green?  Nothing really different... just much, much prettier!  My blog designer worked miracles and finished!  How do you like it?!?  I'm in LOVE!  Bear with me while I fine tune all of the pages and re-write some of my original page ideas!
• I appreciated every.single.comment {and personal emails} about my Mama Bear post.  I really struggled with whether to blog about the experience or not.  I also struggled with whether I made the right decisions and actions on that day.  Your stories and words lifted me up and made me come to terms with the experience and move forward instead of dwelling on the negative aspect of the day.  Thank you!

Lastly... I have to share this iPhone snapshot of our local newspaper.  Our town has a "Cruise-In" type antique car show once a month during the Summer.  It's a fun time to enjoy the cars, our downtown square, and fellowshipping with neighbors and friends.  Guess who made the newspaper in her cutey birthday outfit {I knew we would get alot of use out of this cute outfit!} while driving one of our friend's cars?

Miss Sophia, of course!

Mom Blog Monday

Are you a Mommy blogger? 

Do you blog about your kids? 

Do you blog about great things for Mommies?

Do you wanna meet other Mom Bloggers?

<center><a href="http://soeasybeinggreen-blog.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="So Easy Being Green" src="http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m335/kayedani/newmondaybutton.jpg"/></a></center>


This blog hop is hosted by The Not-So-Secret Confessions of a First Time Mom, Luxury Living Frugal Style, and The Adventures of Curly Tot {who is saying farewell as a co-host of Mom Blog Monday}.  As this is her last week, be sure to go by and leave a comment!

Rules?
We would LOVE it if you'd grab our button and put it somewhere on your blog or in a blog post! This would help us spread the word.  However, you aren't required to.

All we ask is that you follow the co-hosts: The Not-So-Secret Confessions of a First Time Mom, Luxury Living Frugal Style, and The Adventures of Curly Tot... the first three blogs on the linky!  Then follow Spot #4 {yours truly!} which is the featured blog of the week!

Be sure to leave us a comment so we can follow you back!

The most exciting part of Mom Blog Monday this week is... I've been announced as the new co-host for the weekly blog hop!  


I am really looking forward to this new step in my blogging journey at So Easy Being Green!  I'm very excited to meet more Mommy bloggers and create new friendships.  Over the last 6 months, I've met some of the greatest ladies through blogging and I would love to continue. 

If you're visiting for the first time {you can read more about me here}, or have been a SEBG reader for awhile, after you link up, I'd love for you to comment so I can be sure to follow you back!

Mama Bear.

So I've hinted at the not-so-great-start to Sophia's Birthday Party.  It's time to tell the story.

But, I'm not going to tell it the way I originally planned.  I just typed out the entire story and... deleted it.  I let the bitterness and anger take over me again, the same way it did that day, and it's just not healthy.  So, instead of that happening again, I'll give you the short version... in a much happier tone.


We had rented a Park Pavilion for Sophia's party.  When we arrived to start decorating the Pavilion, there was another Birthday party going on.  In the beginning, my father politely asked if they had rented the Pavilion and the people replied that they had not.  He explained to them that we had, months in advance and told them politely that they would have to leave.

They refused.

What followed was negative, angry, and bitter.  I lost my cool and am pretty sure that I looked exactly like this...

Mama Bear.

The "party-goer's" were so ugly to me, even after showing them proof that we had rented the Pavilion.  I was so upset that my daughter's 1st Birthday might be ruined that I lost my cool.

They did finally leave, an hour later.  They made us an hour late to start decorating for Sophia's party.  It was fine, it turned out.  We had enough time to get everything together and the best part... no one at the party had a clue what had happened the hour before.  We pulled it off smoothly {on the outside, inside I was still shaking.}

I was so upset about the situation even days later.  The mother at the "party before ours" claimed that I "ruined her daughter's birthday" by making them leave.  I really worried that I had.  Until... I came to the realization that I had planned my daughter's birthday party months in advance.  I reserved that space, paid the way too much reservation fee, and sent out invitations over a month in advance.  Not that those things make me a better Mother... NO!  I don't mean that at all, but if she wanted her daughter's party to be special, like I tried to make mine, she should have done those things as well... not get mad at me for doing them.

Rob said people react in different ways when they get "caught".  They were caught using a Pavilion that they hadn't rented.  When they were confronted, they decided to fight, not flight.

So, the Mama Bear came out in me.  I know that is what it wass because I always choose "flight", but when it came to Soph's 1st Birthday, I found out, I am a Mama who will "fight" for her children.

What about you?  Has your Mama Bear instinct came out in a way that you didn't expect?  

I'd love to hear your story to make me feel a bit better!

Fluffy Fridays: Fluff Stash Giveaway *closed*

Congrats to Brittany Higgs!  You are the lucky winner with Entry #45 out of 46 entries.
Winner has 48 hours to answer SEBG Winning Email before another winner is chosen.  Random.Org screenshot available upon request.

<center><a href="http://www.soeasybeinggreen-blog.com/2011/06/fluffy-fridays-fluff-stash-giveaway.html"><img src=" http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x400/lindseyg9/Blog/fluffyfridaysbutton.jpg " border="0" alt="So Easy Being Green" /></a></center>

Today you're getting a preview of one of the many new things to come at So Easy Being Green.  From now on, Fridays are going to get just a bit "fluff-ier"!  On SEBG, Fridays will be dedicated solely to all things cloth diaper related.  Whether I'm simply writing a post, sharing some cloth diaper related information with you, OR even hosting a review and giveaway, it's going to be Fluffy Fridays!  It won't just be me either...  You're more than welcome to grab the button and link up!  Whether you want to just show off your stash, share some CD advice, or share a giveaway with all of us, you can participate as long as it's cloth diaper related!

Today, I have a special giveaway for those of you cloth diapering Mama's who love technology!  If you haven't heard of Fluff Stash yet, where have you been?  Facebook and Twitter have been a-buzz with this First Ever Cloth Diapering app!  I couldn't wait to get my hands on it!

Here's a rundown of exactly what you can do with Fluff Stash.

• Take pictures of your entire stash... one diaper at a time!
• Keep record of just how much is in your stash. {I'll admit, this can be a bit dangerous for serious fluff addicts like myself!}
• Share your photos via Facebook/Email/Text.
• Search your Stash by Type/Color/Size/Brand.

Screenshot of my Fluff Stash!

The only thing that I don't like about this app... I wish it would have been available sooner!  I would love to have been able to keep track of every piece of fluff I've ever owned.  Talk about facing your addiction, though!  

Basically this is an app for the Mama's who just love to see their fluffy stash.  It doesn't really serve a purpose, other than that, for now.  Although, I am loving reading the Fluff Stash Facebook page to see what other Mama's would like to see come with Fluff Stash's first update.  There's talk of:  Sorting by Brands, Calculating amounts of Diapers by Brand, and maybe even a For Sale category!  How cool would this be?!  Do you have an idea of how to make Fluff Stash even better?  Share it with me and the makers... right on the Giveaway Form {and get an Extra Entry for it as well!}

Buy It:  If you haven't bought that app... what are you waiting for?  It's only 99 cents and it truly is worth it.  It's alot of fun and if you're as OCD about organization of your fluff as I am, you will definitely be entertained for a few hours!  It's available at the App Store for the iPhone and iPad.  

Win It:  If you haven't bought it yet... you're in luck!  I have a code to give to one lucky So Easy Being Green reader so they can download Fluff Stash for... FREE!  

This Fluffy Friday giveaway will end next Sunday, June 12th at 11:59 pm EST.  It is open to US and Canada residents only.

Link you may need for this Giveaway:

Fluff Stash on Facebook

{sample tweet} Take ur #clothdiapers obsession to a new level w/ the 1st CD app, Fluff Stash! #Win it from @lindseygalvez! Ends 6.12 http://bit.ly/jBj2WJ 

Closed.

Have a post today that is related to Cloth Diapers?  

Join Fluffy Fridays and Link up!  

{Be sure to share if it's a giveaway too!}

Please use the Google Form (above) to enter, as any comments on this post will not count towards the giveaway. You can view all entries to this giveaway on the spreadsheet (private information is hidden). Winner will be chosen by random.org, The winner will be announced on the blog, emailed, and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Although I was given a complimentary code for review purposes, I was not paid/enticed to write a fabulous review for this product, all opinions are expressed are 100% mine! You may view my full disclosure policy, here.

Wordless Wednesday {almost}

The Birthday Bash is over!  That's a bittersweet statement for me.  The giveaways were so much fun, but I'm glad to get the blog back from Miss Sophia and her Rock 'N Rollin' 50s Party!

Before we say goodbye to all the Teeny Boppin' fun for good, here are a couple of photos from her party...

All this little lady wanted to do at her Party was... SWING!  She loves, loves, loves to swing.

When we finally got her to get out of the swing to open some presents, look at her reaction to some fluff!  {This is a Walmart brand swim diaper and I'm looking forward to comparing my Bummis and Monkey Doodles Swimmi's to it.}

Birthday Bash: PowerCapes *closed*

Congrats to Jessie L!  You are the lucky winner with comment #14 out of 134 entries.  Your kiddo is going to have some a Rockin' PowerCape!
Winner has 48 hours to answer SEBG Winning Email before another winner is chosen.  Random.Org screenshot available upon request.

I can't believe that the Birthday Bash has finally come to an end.  It's been a long {and definitely fun} month and I hope you had as much of a Rock 'N Rollin' good time as Sophia and I have!  We're going to end this Bash with a Bang Punch Bam Ka-Pow!

PowerCapes is a company that, if you haven't heard of before, you're not going to forget... especially if you have a little active babe in your life!  How many of you remember tying a blanket around your neck and running through the house pretending to be SuperWoman?  I know it can't be just me!

Think of the coolest cape your child could dream of... what colors would he/she choose?  What emblem?  Initial?  That's the best part about the PowerCapes idea.  You {and your child!} get to design their very own Super Hero Cape!

Since Sophia is not quite old enough to tell me her favorite colors, I did a little guessing {and living through my 1 year old} and developed this purple beauty!

She loves Flowers, hence the flower emblem and she's obviously... Super Sophia the girl with the Purple Cape and Green Thumb!

Back to seriousness, this cape is ridiculously cute!  It's a soft, satin and is great quality.  This is not your cheaply, hand-stitched type of cape.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, but PowerCapes are definite professional quality.  There is a small tab of velcro at the top of the cape, which pulls away easily enough if Sophia yanks on it, or if it was to get caught on something.

Sophia's PowerCape hangs in her "Dress Up Corner", just waiting to transform her!

PowerCapes has a great deal for So Easy Being Green readers.  Use the code "SOEASY" to receive 10% off your PowerCapes purchase!!

Why WE Love PowerCapes:  Sophia thinks she is the stuff when she's wearing this cape.  She grins that sneaky grin and you can just tell that she loves it.  I love having items that will encourage imaginative play with her!

Buy It:  Not only can you build your own custom PowerCape, you can also buy an in-stock, already design Super Hero Cape, as well as all the accessories any Super Hero might need, including a Mask, Blaster Cuffs, and a Super Hero Tshirt.
The custom PowerCapes start at $24.99.

Win It:  One super lucky So Easy Being Green reader is going to end this Birthday Bash with a Rockin' Ka-Pow by winning a custom PowerCape!!!

If you've never entered a SEBG giveaway, or need a re-fresher, visit the SEBG Giveaways page.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 pm {EST} on Tuesday, June 7th.  It is open to US residents only.

Links you may need for this Giveaway:

PowerCapes: Website // Facebook // Twitter

{sample tweet} #Win a custom @PowerCapes from @lindseygalvez during #BirthdayBash! Last #rockin #giveaway ends 6.7 http://tinyurl.com/3cs5qgw

Closed.

Please use the Google Form (above) to enter, as any comments on this post will not count towards the giveaway. You can view all entries to this giveaway on the spreadsheet (private information is hidden). Winner will be chosen by random.org,  The winner will be announced on the blog, emailed, and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Although I was sent a complimentary PowerCape for review purposes, I was not paid/enticed to write a fabulous review for this product, all opinions are expressed are 100% mine! You may view my full disclosure policy, here.