One Moms World Mom Blog - Jen Houck

Children Talk

Little Sis Is a True Artist in the Making

Dear L,

You do not like to be still, you always want to be on the go and make us happy. If you do something wrong, you beg me and say mommy mommy, please don’t be mad at me. After you say that, you will proceed into “You are the best mommy in the world.” You definitely know how to get to my heart every time.

Artist, dancer, singer are three words that would describe you right now for sure. We find you sitting in your little rocking chair and singing a song all the while playing your guitar. OR… you will be in front of the radio dancing your little heart out so graceful. OR…. you will be sitting at the table drawing the cutest little drawing and say “Mommy, I have a surprise for you.” Today, I was shocked when you showed me your drawing. It was a Jellyfish you proclaimed…. I couldn’t believe how well you really did draw a jellyfish.

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Just seeing your smile just warms my heart over and over and over. You know how to get to mommy just like you kept rolling down the window today and I said L… “but mommy I just wanted to get some fresh air.” Your comebacks are always words that are for sure going to make me forget why I was even calling you down.

You are always smiling no matter what. Right now you are having the worst time trying to breathe, but you still are trying to make us all smile (even the doctors who think you are just the cutest) by your little artsy ways!

Just keep being you baby girl. Just keep being you!

Love always and forever,

Mommy

The Story of the ZING ZANG ZOOM

The snow storm that took over NC this past weekend was determined to make us miss my girls first circus ever. Guess what? We were one up on the weather. We changed our tickets from the Saturday show to the Thursday show. I’m so glad we did because I heard that lots of people couldn’t make the weekend shows but luckily Ticketmaster was doing refunds due to the snow storm.

To see the girls faces during the show as just amazing! The show lasted a little over 2 hours, but the girls did not complain at all. They are at the ages of 5 and 7. Since due to the weather my step-daughter was not with us, we took my little cousins age 9 and 11 (boys). They were equally amazed as well.

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They included the family in on lots of events during the show. Seeing the magic being performed and then watching the amazed looks on the children faces just couldn’t be beat.

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I am always in awe of the acrobats and so I just knew my girls would be as well. Much to my surprise the boys couldn’t stop watching either. How they are so flexible and strong will always be a wonder of mine? They have so much faith on each other to which I’m sure they have a huge bond with one another. Just seeing them do the flips, balances, jumps and climbs was just awesome.

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I will have to say, that I have never seen a real life cannon ball and guess what… I was finally able to see one!!! I think I was jumping up and down as much as my girls were. My youngest daughter just couldn’t quite figure out why the women were getting into these tubes and her mouth just dropped open when they shot across the stage. Amazing!

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Oh the animals were a HUGE HIT! All the kids were on the edge of their seats during the whole animal scenes. I was so cracking up at the elephants… they can sit their big booty on these little stools and never miss a beat. Too cool! Also how they would all line up and swing each other’s tales to hold on to each other. So cool!

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I was a little anxious for the tigers when it was time for their scene. They never skipped a beat with the trainer though and all did their tricks perfect. Amazing!

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At the end was a huge parade and all the kids joined in and clapped their little hearts out!

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It was such a great experience for the whole family. My hubby and I were just into the show as much as the kids were. We definitely recommend this for a family outing 🙂

Check to see when the ZING ZANG ZOOM is coming to your area and use this special offer to get your tickets really cheap :).

A SPECIAL OFFER FOR YOU!
Purchase
 a
 4‐pack
  of 
tickets 
for 
only
 $44 
for
 weekday
 shows,
or
 receive
 $4
 off
 weekend
 tickets 
by 
logging 
on to 
www.ticketmaster.com
 and
entering 
the
 coupon
 code:
 MOM.

Also, be sure to get to the arena early to check out the All Access Preshow.

Step onto the arena floor and into The Greatest Show On Earth® at the All Access Pre-show! Come an hour before show time to join Clown College® and learn how to be a circus clown.

10 Reasons You Can’t Miss the All Access Pre-show!

1) An amazing elephant paints right before your eyes.

2) Learn juggling, makeup and fun with the world famous Clown Alley.

3) See a one-of-a-kind special Ringling Bros®motorcycle as built by Orange County Choppers.

4) Meet the performers up close and get autographs.

5) Witness Klose’s Performing Canines jump through obstacles and hoops.

6) Be amazed as Zingmaster Alex teaches magic to audience members.

7) See performers jump rope and do tricks on the low wire.

8) Watch the contortions and table juggling of the Chinese Qi Qi Har Troupe.

9) Try on actual clothes used in The Greatest Show On Earth.

10) It’s FREE with your ticket, so get in on the fun!

What age was your children when they first went to the circus?

Full Disclosure: Our family was provided these tickets in exchange for this complete review. This review comes from my heart and the complimentary tickets did not persuade my views at all!

What Is In a Grandparent Name

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My beautiful girls call my mom an unique name. I’m not so sure if she ever thought she would be called this when she was a grandparent, but it warms my heart that my girls came up with this ever so cute name on their own. My girls call my mom Yay-Yay! Yes… you heard me right :). Now, you see how this name came about is very interesting. When M was about 6 months old, my mom would call M on the phone and go yayayayayayayayay over and over to her on the phone. She did this until M was well over a year old because M would just crack up and do the cutest little baby laugh. Mom was over at our house one day and M out of the blue looked at my mom and said plain as day Yay-Yay. Her little mind put two and two together that she was the woman that always did Yay-Yay to her so that must be her name right? Ever since that day, my mom has been known as Yay-Yay to the girls. When L was born and old enough to talk, she naturally just started calling mom Yay-Yay as well. Is that not just the cutest story?

Now let’s just say if you gather a group of young kids today and ask them what they call their grandparents…. you are going to get a different answer from each one.  You’re bound to encounter the run-of-the-mill Grandmas and Grandpas, but things really start getting interesting once the Gramies, Lulus, Gagas and Boo-boos start popping up.  Where did all these names come from?  Are the grandparents planting them?  Is it just a matter of young kids butchering the annunciations?  Regardless of origin, the nicknaming of grandparents has taken on a life of its own, and as a result BabyCenter has published the top 10 most popular names from grandparents:

Popular Grandmother Names:

Grandma

Nana

Grammy

Granny

Mimi

Gram

Nanny

Oma

Mamaw

Gran

Popular Grandfather Names:

Grandpa

Papa

Granddad

Gramps

Pop-Pop

Poppy

Papaw

Pop

Opa

Pappy

In addition to the top ten, BabyCenter also collected dozens of other sweet, fun and downright odd names while compiling the list that can be found here.

What does your kids call their grandparents? I would love to see if it falls into the top ten from above or is unique to your family :).

Music To My Ears

Our family is a big music loving family. We always have some sort of music and even have music going during the night for the girls and I on low. I was very sad when they took music and arts out of the classrooms this year at my daughters’ school. I think school should be more than just sitting at a desk all day as children learn also through arts. Studies show that kids who are exposed to music from an early age do better in school. Unfortunately, most U.S. schools just like our’s have cut back or even eliminated their arts & music programs due to shrinking budgets.

Kidz Bop realizes this as well. My girls love to listen to modern day music but sometimes the lyrics are not always what I want them to hear, so I love how Kidz Bop breaks it down and creates musical CDS for children of all ages. They also want children to appreciate music as they are growing up and have provided tips on how to introduce kids to music.

KIDZ BOP’s Tips for Introducing Kids to Music.

Sing Along!
Sing to AND with your child from an early age. Whether it’s “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or a hit song by your favorite top 40 artist—kids love to sing along and share their favorite music with you! You don’t have to be a great singer—just
get into the moment and create happy, shared memories.

Sing to Learn!
Music is a powerful teaching tool. Kids can learn the alphabet, numbers, vocabulary and rhyming—keys to building early literacy skills—through singing or listening to music. After you’ve shared a song together, talk to your child about the words. What do you think this song is about?…What does that word mean?…What words do you hear that rhyme?…How do you think the singer is feeling?…Why?

Turn Off and Tune In!
Turn off the TV and turn on the radio or iPod. Cultivate your child’s musical taste by exposing him or her to all different genres of music, including pop, rock, hip hop, classical and country. Music is a kid-friendly vehicle for introducing tolerance for other cultures, styles and tastes. Play Along! Numerous household items can be turned into musical instruments to help develop your child’s inner rock star. Make drums out of pots & pans and empty boxes, musical shakers and maracas out of coffee cans or water bottles filled with dried beans (make sure they are securely
closed) and horns out of paper towel tubes…the possibilities are only limited by your imagination! Educational experts consider imaginary play to be a fun and valuable tool for developing your child’s reasoning and
comprehension skills.

FREE Musical Instruments:
Musical instruments are expensive. When your child shows interest in picking up the clarinet or violin, don’t despair! Check out websites like Craigslist or local swap and barter clubs to find cheap second hand (or better yet, FREE) instruments.

Just Dance!
Music is good for the body and soul. Redent reports find that almost 1 in 3 kids (ages 2-19) in the US are overweight or obese. Dance is not only great exercise, it helps teach rhythm and coordination. So channel your inner “Dancing Queen” and “Twist and Shout” with your kids.

Visit to make music & videos online with your kids at Kidz Bop LLC.

Disclaimer: No cash was given to make this post. I just feel like music should be a part of children’s lives and wanted to share these tips with you all 🙂

Mommy Jesus Brought Him Back

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Last night in the super cold weather, our little Kingston decided to dart out the door when I was bringing in groceries. My girls immediately started crying. L said, mom we have to think about this. She went and got me the flash light since it was pitch dark outside.

So we go trekking through the snow and ice down our road to see if we can grab him. He is super fast but
1) It was too cold for him to stay outside (below zero wind chills)
2) I was afraid he would get hit by a car

We all three are walking up and down the road calling his name. I hear M behind me whispering something but couldn’t make out what she was saying. All of a sudden we see car lights… thank you Lord. Those car lights were shining into a yard and there was our precious Kingston. He came running straight to us.

We hurried and got inside and M said “Mommy, do you know who brought Kingston back to us? It was Jesus. I was saying a prayer while we were walking.” Melt my heart. That was the whispering that I was hearing behind us. She said see mommy prayers really do work. Yes, they do indeed my beautiful girl!

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