Who Loves the show Parks and Recreations? It is our new favorite and we are always quoting it.
This year I made you some Parks and Rec Valentines
Download them HERE *NOTE* on my computer they show up pixelated and very weird looking, but when you download them they look just fine.
Download them HERE *NOTE* on my computer they show up pixelated and very weird looking, but when you download them they look just fine.
Here are some other Valentines you can download for free. From some other fun bloggers.
Growing up, I have memories of my mom make a bunch of ornaments for our themed tree. One of my favorites she made were these Reindeer ornaments
They were my favorite because she would hide chocolate Kisses inside
This year I made some for my tree and some to give away. I love these little deer they fill me with Christmas memories from my childhood, and memories of my dear mother who always filled every holiday with cheer!
I used my mom's pattern but tried to put my own spin on them by adding some color... HERE ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS
1) Cut plastic canvas 10x10 squares
2) Thread yarn back and forth top to bottom
3) Sew two sides of two together with the yarn
4) Sew two sides of the bottom one, to two sides of the third piece together.
5) There will be two sides of two squares left untouched. Sew around all four edges separately (don't sew them together like you did with the past sides) so there will be an opening for the mouth.
6) Add all the fun stuff! Some antlers made from pipe cleaner (I just poke them through and twist them), some goggly eyes, and a fuzzy nose (I hot glue both the eyes and nose)!
Christmas is around the corner, and so I am going to let you know what toys are a hit at our house
This is like water colors, only without the mess! The kids like this better because their little uncoordinated strokes, still make big color. I like it because it is reusable! That's right, when it dry's you can paint it again.
The kids LOVE this, they could go in circles all day through the tunnel and the Tent is also fun for them to play in. I like it because when they are done it all folds down flat for storage, no bulky toys taking up space around the house
My kids loved this toy when they were really little and just bearly learning to play with toys, and they haven't grown out of it yet, as they grow they get excited about putting the right animal in or the right color, and counting
My middle boy used to sleep with this every night, he just loved the music and the light.
You can never go wrong with their favorite toy from their favorite movie or show (which is cars in our house) Not only will you get big smiles and squeals when they open their present but they also will play with the toy every day!
I love this guide for buying Christmas gifts. It gives me a good outline to follow, and makes it so my kids get the same amount of stuff. So if you are looking for "SOMETHING TO READ" for your adorable TODDLER, here are my suggestions...
1- Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton Fun and silly way to teach colors to kids.
2- Pete the Cat and His Four Groovie Buttons by Eric Litwin Great way to introduce kids to numbers and the idea of subtraction. My kids love the to dance and sing to the silly song.
3- Octopus Opposites by Stella Blackstone This is a wonderful book to introduce kids to opposites. My kids also loved the art work
4- Hello is this Grandma? by Iam Whybrow There are three reason my kids love this book 1) it has ANIMALS 2) it is about talking on the PHONE 3) there is a BIRTHDAY in this book. They get so excited every time
5- Thanking God for You by Alice Greenspan This is a lovely poem that probably sums up how much you love your child, a good book to sit down and have snuggles. You can also personalize it by adding a picture of your child at the end.
6- Beep! Beep! Beepity-Beep! This book has it all, a fun song, colors, counting, and TRUCKS.
7- Llama Llama Red Pajama Anna Dewdney This cleverly written book is my kids favorite, they love the whole llama llama series but this one if my favorite, if you haven't read it yet, give it a try!
8- Peek-a-Moo by Marie Torres Cimarusti Babies love the peek a boo fun of this book and toddlers love how it is interactive and they get to make all the animal sounds.
And I have them all here for you to check out on Amazon! My favorite way to shop, no screaming kids or loading and unloading them into the car and stores.
I don't know about your kids but my kids love chocolate milk, pop, soda, punch and their favorite drink is JUICE. The last thing my kids want is water, and it has been a battle at our house for years, but lately it has been a battle I have been winning and I wanted to share my success and tips that might help you and your kids choose a healthier beverage.
1) Don't introduce other drinks into their regular diet-The kids that we delayed giving sugary drinks to, have been more accepting of water. I don't plan on never letting the younger kids drink sugary drinks but I think I will wait until they are older and have more self control and understanding. 2) Dilute what they are already drinking-With my oldest he could cry for hours for Juice, so I felt that diluting his juice was a good compromise. It also helped the wallet, only having to buy half the juice. 3) Let your stash run out-If my kids know there is another option in the house, they will throw a fit until they get their way, but if they can go to the fridge and the pantry and see that it is all gone, they are still sad but they accept water without a fight 4) Let special drinks be for special places- These days they only have Chocolate Milk when we visit their Oma, and they can only have Pop when we take them out to eat, which is only twice a month. If they ask for them through out the week I remind them the next time they get to have that drink. 5) Give them water to drink before they get to thirsty- I notice if I give them water before they ask me for a drink they will take it, but if I wait until they are thirsty and asking for a drink, they are already to irritable to negotiate. 6) Try different temperatures of water-My husband and I like our water different and so do our kids, it took me awhile to think about this, but when I gave my kids a few options I realized my oldest boy will drink more water if it is cold and my younger boy likes it better at room temperature. 7) Get a new exciting cup or water bottle that is only for water- When ever I was using a new water bottle or mug, my kids would be intrigued and want to drink from it. So I went and got some fun water bottles and told the kids they were only for water. Them instead of asking them what to drink, I would ask them what cup they would want, and they would go for the cool water bottles that we pre-determined were only for water 8) Let them pour their own water-I went to my sons preschool and noticed he was drinking only water, I thought it might be because there was no other option. But I realized how much he enjoyed pouring it by himself from a pitcher. So I brought that idea home and let them pour water from a plastic measuring cup... it is working great
Hope one of these tips help. Comment if you have any tips on how to get kids to drink more water.
My husband works for apple and we have more apple products in our house then we have people to use them. This was the perfect Family Costume Idea for us.
Here is our Apple Family, I am the iPhone 4S, my husband is Steve Jobs, my littlest is a iPod Nano, my oldest is the Shuffle and my brother joined us one night as an Apple Genius!
THESE WERE NO SEW COSTUMES
my secret I used a hot glue gun. For my outfit and the kids out fits. I bought the cheaspest plain material I could find at walmart, cut into a square and glued on the top and the sides together. THEN I cut an opening for our heads.
For the boys control buttons and my app's. I just used felt cut out each shape and glued it together, my husband enjoyed helping me make apps.
For my brother I just pinned a white felt apple to his blue shirt, printed off an image of the Genius badge and hot glued it on white string!
*I wanted to use this theme again this year, but the new IOS came out, so I would have to change all my apps, I think we will just save it for a few years, and then we can be RETRO apple products or if I wait longer maybe even VINTAGE
Cornstarch and water. This mixture is CRAZY. If you put a lot of pressure on it, it gets hard. But if your soft it goes liquid again. A must play for all kids.... And ADULTS! Not going to lie, my husband and I played with it for quite awhile after we put the kids to bed.
7) Add Chocolate Kisses for extra fun!
