Sundays are Fun-days

Over the last few months, we have been so crazy busy with the move and pregnancy and holidays and... and... and...that we have spent a lot of time together, but it wasn't necessarily time spent just enjoying ourselves. We have resolved to spend more quality time together just as a family. As a start, the past couple of Sunday afternoons have been spent at home with a laid back kindof feel. Two weekends ago, we made a big brunch, set the table all cutesy on the back porch, and just hung out together.  It was wonderful!

This past weekend, the kids and I set out to fill the new outside "toy box"with their favorite backyard belongings. Although this was a little bit "work," it was an activity we could do together and they were excited to have all of their toys together. Halfway through, my daughter started in on how hot it was outside and how they should be able to play with water! Water play in January, I have to be kidding, right?!? I wish I was kidding. However, it was hot.

The kids ran inside for their swimsuits and I collected the toy sink, old sandbox, and a random tote box.

They played for a good hour in the water. We had some old paintbrushes that they used to "draw" on the deck with water, too.  The tote box filled with water was the biggest hit. Afterall, why would a child play with the water sink or ladybug that are designed for children to play with outside when a $15 bucket is available???

Maybe the next time they ask for water play, I'll bring out the Water Pipes Set we put together last summer!

National S'mores Day and Awesome Ideas, Stolen

Today is National S'mores Day!  The list of important holidays in my world goes something like this:

#1. Christmas
#2. Easter
#3. Halloween (which to me means, the most awesome holiday, Christmas, is right around the corner)
#4. Talk Like a Pirate Day

Of course there are birthdays and anniversaries too, but these other days warrant preparation and fun.  Then, today, I find out about National S'mores Day!  I'm adding it to the list!  

I have been drafting a post for a while now about the things that Pinterest, Martha Stewart, and S'mores have in common with the unraveling of the traditional means of succeeding at motherhood. I didn't want to sound bitter, but there is a point to be made.  And here it is:

Pinterest and Martha Stewart are responsible for making mothers everywhere feel like failures.

Regarding Pinterest, how can one thing give so many great ideas and make you feel like a failure because you don't do all these things, all at the same time? Don't get me wrong. I am totally addicted to Pinterest. It can be a great reference tool, but I really hate that now, when I have an original idea, the first thing someone says is, "Did you see that on Pinterest?"  I want to scream, "No, doggone-it. I thought it up in my little pea-brain all by myself." My S'mores idea that I am about to share, all mine!  I came up with it on my own. Just sayin.

Then there is Martha. She has been making us look bad for years, with her "Pay no attention to the throngs of staffers I have behind the curtain" approach to crafting she has had for years. I was just looking through a back issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine (which I am not really sure that I ever subscribed to, but somehow it ends up at my house, so I just HAVE to read it, right?) and on the cover- s’mores.  Yes, right there.  Martha Stewart claiming to upgrade the s’more.  Yes, upgrade the s’more.  “How?” you ask.  She makes the graham crackers from scratch and then adds imported chocolate.  Well, lady, let me tell you.  That may be a little too far.  Besides, years ago, I upgraded the s’more, and I have throngs of people who can vouch for me.  (And if Martha Stewart ever reads this, I'm sorry if I offended you. Really, your staff comes up with some really super cute ideas. I just can't in good conscience cover anything in my house with glitter and I hate paper crafts- paper cuts.)

Back to the S'more. 

The s’more you see, is practically perfect in its store-bought practicality from the get go.  It reminds me of childhood and camping with the Girl Scouts and visiting northern family and campfires.  Have you ever had a bad memory involving a s’more?  I think not.  

Well, you may be wondering where this tangent is going and how exactly I think I could possibly improve the s’more. My upgrade does not at all compromise the simple practicality of the s’more, it simply increases its deliciousness by substituting your favorite chocolate candy for the Hershey's milk chocolate. (Side note: If you weren't using Hershey's Milk Chocolate in the first place, you weren't doing it right anyway. In my opinion.)  My personal favorite is to use the Reese’s Peanut Butter cup.  (Anyone who knows me will not be surprised. I have an addiction, or is it an obsession, with the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg)

Here is what you do:

1. Go to the store.
2. Buy Graham crackers and large marshmallows.
3. The hard part- buy Hershey's chocolate bars if plain chocolate is your favorite.  If not, substitute Reese's, York's, or any other flat-ish candy bar.
4. Make a fire or use the microwave to make your s'mores.  
5. Eat.
6. SMILE. 

Happy S'mores Day! I know what we will be having for dinner...I mean dessert. :)

And don't let anyone else's ideas ruin your really good ones!

Toast! Raise your marshmallow sticks!

Oh, yeah, and follow me on Pinterest! I have a whole board dedicated to how Reese's Peanut Butter Cups should come out with a star shape for summer, because the break from Easter to Halloween is just too long! :) 

Home-made Parties: Angry Birds

We grow people and we celebrate them, with parties!

We enjoy planning our kids' birthday parties and work to keep them home-made.   When it came time to pick a theme for our youngest third birthday, it didn't take long to land on Angry Birds.  He was, and still is, pretty obsessed with this game and I am just sure that it is teaching him something valuable like physics!  So, this past October, we threw an Angry Birds party for a three year old! We didn't expect it to be so hard to find supplies for an Angry Birds, so it was a good thing we do home-made.  Unlike today, a few short months later, it was impossible to find almost anything that was Angry Birds, let alone for kids.

Here are the details of what we did and I hope it helps inspire your own Angry Birds Party:

1.  Theme:
Angry Birds: Jack's Party Edition

2. Color scheme:
Bird and Pig Colors- Red, Lime Green, Yellow, Blue.  I found dotted wrapping paper at Target and used that as the base for paper items.

3. Invitations:
I sent a picture of the wrapping paper to my Photoshop whiz brother, and he created a graphic complete with balloons and flying present boxes (this will be part of the wall later) for me.  I emailed out the invitations.  (Generally, I am anti the electronic invitation for birthday parties, but it just didn't seem right to send a snail mail invite to a party inspired by an app.)

4. Pig Wall!
I'm not sure how to have an Angry Birds Party without a wall the kids can knock down. We secured boxes of various sizes and wrapped them up. (We may have "borrowed" a few boxes from a shipping company that I intend to use later for mailing!) The traditional Angry Birds game walls are wooden boards and ice, with the occassional TNT box.  We mimicked those using "woodgrain" contact paper and the backside of wrapping paper (white).  Several of the boxes were wrapped as gifts in the polka dot paper to match the invitations and then some in red, Jack's favorite color.
I made four red birds, 1 from fleece and 3 from giant red bouncing balls from Target that I painted the face onto.  The kids threw these at the wall.  Since they were mostly 2, 3, and 4 year olds, we didn't think a slingshot was appropriate.
We had four pigs, two from fleece and two green bouncing balls I got from a dollar store.
I wanted the backdrop of the wall to look more like the game, so I used a sheet and painted grass across the bottom.  We used PVC to make the framed to hold it up.

Pig Wall

Ready

Set

Go!

The components of this wall have all been put to later uses too.  The woodgrain contact paper boxes are stacked in our playroom and are regularly used for walls, bridges, and wedding ceremonies.  The pigs and birds  make random cameos.  That PVC frame has since been turned into pieces for the water park.

5. The Pig-nata

Instead of a traditional pinata, we had a Pig-nata!  This home-made beauty was made from paper mache and streamers, and it only took about two days to make.  I'm hoping to eventually blog a how-to on how I made it, but in the meantime, you can find tutorials all over the web.  My only caution is that 5 layers is too thick!  The kids couldn't break him so we had to tear into him.

I also made the eye mask and knowing that three year olds weren't going to be so psyched about being blindfolded (nor was it really going to impact their ability to bust the thing open), I made a mask to look like the Angry Bird eyes.  (The picture if of me sportin' the mask!)

6. Menu:
Pigs in a Blanket: Mini and Full-sized hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls
Pork and Beans: Baked Beans
Slop: Mac n Cheese
Bird Seed: Sunflower seeds
Cake!  I found an Angry Birds board game and used it to set up a scene around the cake.  Of course, the kids rearranged it every time I turned around, so I can't take all the credit!   The birds were trying to get the cake from the pigs who were clearly holding the present-shaped cake hostage.

7.  Decorations:
These were the easiest part!  I looked for the more quintessential party decorations I could find featuring balloons and primary colors, as well as balloons.  A last minute decoration idea was to include more of the Angry Bird Seasons, and I set up the picnic in the front yard.  I wished I had thought that up earlier and had more time to add more seasonal items and party decor.  Many of these were found at a local dollar store.

8. Favors:
Favors included punching balloons, so the kids could continue knocking things out at home as well as bouncing balls and other traditional birthday trinkets from the Pig-nata.

9. Outfits:
At the time of the party, Angry Birds shirts were only available for adults, and were limited in availability.  So, I picked up four red shirts and appliqued the face right on.  Seriously easy and now Target has kids shirt that looks almost exactly like the ones I made for us.  (I plan to do a post on applique too and you don't even have to be able to sew, although it will extend the life of your applique.  If you haven't tried this yet, you will love the flexibility and how easy it can be to create simple designs.)

Overall, my youngest had a ball.  We were so thankful for so many sweet friends who came to help us celebrate and we really enjoyed being able to work together to create this party for our little one.

(We got that cupcake for his First Birthday and take pictures by it each year.  I shared our Cupcake First Birthday Party here)

Source: happylittlemonkeystree.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Colored Shaving Cream: Pinned It and Did It

Well, time is escaping me again! In my post Pinned It and Did It: Vertical Clothes I had promised to follow up on other pins, namely Painting with Colored Shaving Cream. Instead, I shared about our Fun with Pipes, which I am happy to report is still fun to play with and entertaining!

Artists at work

Back to the task at hand...How was our experiment with actually doing the the colored shaving cream Pins?  Not so good.

In case you haven't seen the Pins, they typically feature a muffin tin filled with brightly colored shaving cream, or a rainbow mural on the bathtub wall supposedly painted by a small kid. Well, I was hooked and in my determination to not just pin things but to also do them, I finally made it to the store for the supplies.

Have you heard the rule "keep it simple, stupid (KISS)?" Well, the colored shaving cream idea breaks this rule on so many levels and while I am sure that the original pinners meant to provide a really fun activity for their kids.  However, I think they ended up with a really cute blog post and just making a huge unnecessary mess for themselves.

The Pins showed the shaving cream all colored like this.

Here is why I think it didn't go as great as expected:

1. The kids were happier squirting the shaving cream from the can than they were using it out of containers with paint brushes.

2. Food coloring= staining. Unless you are going to be "super serial" about mixing your food coloring and shaving cream, you will have bits of dye that you will have to work to remove later. I have also heard reports of stained tile grout from people who used the idea indoors.

3. We make more work for ourselves by coloring the shaving cream. I dragged out containers, paint brushes, shaving cream, sticks, and food coloring so that the kids could smear shaving cream all over the outside plastic toys. In the end, the kids were playing with the cans of shaving cream and using their hands. I easily could have left out the containers and dye and they would have been just as happy.

Cleaning his car wheels.  The car got a thorough detailing

So, why did I drag out extra stuff and do more work than I needed to? Because I forgot to Keep It Simple, Stupid!! I saw the pin of rainbow shaving cream and imagined the artwork they would create and the hours longer they would play with the shaving cream if it was colored instead of plain ole white. And I dreamed of how they would purposefully try to blend the red and the yellow together to see that it makes orange.

Instead, they just acted like kids with shaving cream. They played. They made a mess. They smelled great!

Having fun!

Yes, and that is my kid sliding across the table to smear the shaving cream. I told you they were just as happy using themselves!

So, add a couple of cans of old school Barbasol type shaving cream to your Dollar Store Shopping list and break them out next time you need your kids to be entertained for a good 30 minutes or so. It will be one of the easiest activities you do with them.

Another note.  If this was a Mythbusters post, the reason they are smearing the shaving cream onto all of the outside plastic toys is that I had heard it helps to get plastic cleaner. Each spring I have to clean everything that hasn't been used during the brutal winter months we have here in Florida (ha, yes, I'm kidding). So, I thought I would get them involved and combine the fun pin with this fun cleaning trick. The plastic stuff got cleaned, but I am not sure I can attribute that to the shaving cream.
------

I will only share the original Pinspiration when its an idea I like/love, but not when its something we aren't successful with doing. For this idea, I do think the thought was very creative and a super cute idea, which is why we did it.  We did, however, end up with little flecks of food coloring on the plastic outside toys, and on the kids.  Besides, they had just as much fun with plain ole shaving cream, so why do the extra work?!?

Happy Pinning and Playing!

Source: happylittlemonkeystree.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Fun with Pipes: Pinned it and Did it!

It's already starting to get hot here, and by hot I mean in the 80s and 90s.  In looking for some fun ideas, I remembered this Pin from Pinterest on making a Kid/Carwash:

Source: cometogetherkids.com via Carrie on Pinterest

When I coupled that Pin with a convo from one of my super-creative friends and a trip to Home Depot with the hubs, we now have the coolest water and life-size tinker toy set ever!

Yesterday's Waterpark Construction Project!

Here is what we have learned:

1. We used 3/4" pipes.  These are sturdy enough and yet the kids can still help manipulate them.

2. Make sure you get the right attachment to connect the hose to the pipes.   We got the wrong connecting piece to connect the hose to the pipe.  You need a piece that has no threading on one side and then the threaded "female" end on the other side.

3. Buy the "Contractor Packs."  We only bought a few pieces on Sunday to try out the pipe toy and see if we liked it.  I went back for more parts on Monday and found "Contractor Packs" of straight, "T", and elbow connectors.  These are packs of 10 and you basically get a connector or two for free when you buy these packs.

4. Cut the majority of the pipes a standard size. We decided to cut the pipes to 2' long sections.  By having the majority of the set of basically the same size, it is easier to construct different contraptions.   We have a few pieces that we just use at the end of pipes to provide stability and they are random short lengths.  We also left  the "carwash" pipe 4' long as it goes over their heads and we didn't want it to be able to break to easily above them.

5. Don't forget the end caps.  We forgot end caps the first day and had to rely on duct tape to close off the ends of the pipes.  (Duct tape totally worked, but it is so much easier with the end caps)

6. Don't glue them together.  The pipes stayed together well enough that we didn't have to glue anything together, which is awesome since now we can create something new tomorrow.

7. Spray-painting the pipes.  I painted the pipes that have holes in them so it would be easier to pull them out of the box as we create.  The paint on the ends of the pipes makes it just a bit harder to get the connectors off at the end of playtime, but otherwise has added some fun to our set.

My kids are 3 and almost 5 and have played with these pipes for two days in a row.  Although they cannot connect the pipes by themselves yet, I know its not going to take long before they are creating their own waterparks.   It has probably taken us about 10 minutes to set up the waterpark and then they have played with it for at least an hour each time.  We already had three pipes, and then spent about $20 on all of the connectors and another pipe.  Pipes are about $1.50 each, and we have a lot more connectors than we can use at one time.  Its good to have options, right?

A special thank you to ComeTogetherKids for sharing this great idea I found on Pinterest.  I have just spent some time poking around her blog and she has some other super fun ideas that I know we will need to try out!  Please swing by her blog or Facebook page.  

Follow me on Pinterest

Top 10 Things to do with Mardi Gras Beads

Well, since I know that I know my clients well, I am sure that you all are trying to shake off the hangover of all the partying you did for Mardi Gras.  On the contrary, perhaps you are just inhaling coffee this morning to compensate for your toddler waking up five extra times last night.  Whatever the case is, if you have a pile of beaded necklaces lying around, don't toss them out just yet.   They can provide more hours of enjoyment with your little people.

Top 10 Things to do with Mardi Gras Beads

1. Ring the Mommy
Ok, putting the necklace around your neck, or their own, is probably the first thing your kid will do and I understand its not very creative.  However, your child may not be very efficient at getting the necklace on you or themselves at first, but they will get better.   They are practicing motor skills.

2. Pouring is SO. MUCH. FUN!  
We came up with this idea at a local Pizzeria when we had a pile of beads, three kids, and requested a few plastic cups.  Put the beads in one cup and then dump them into another cup.  Yes, its that simple, but set up this activity and watch how long your kid will play.  (And feel proud that you aren't cleaning up water from all over your bathroom or kitchen)  When you add another kid, or five, you can have them work together to pour the beads into a friend's cup.

3. Beads as (Pretend) Food. 
Beads are just fun for them to play with and the kids love to use their imaginations.  Yesterday I was handed this plate of grapes to eat by my four year old.

Beads as a Tossed Salad (I took this picture about a year ago after the kids went to bed.  They had left this in the playroom.  It's totally not staged.)

4.  "Sensory" Table (aka, Water Table, Fancy Bucket or Tub) Filler
Basically, any entertaining of your tot that would require water could be done with a pile of these beaded necklaces.  Instead of putting water in the water table, put beads and reduce the mess that gets all over your kid.

5. Play Pirate

Pirates loves treasure, and what better treasure than jewels?!?  You can even hide a pile under and blanket in your house or out in the sandbox, and go on a treasure hunt.  

6.  Sorting, Counting, etc. 

Use the beads for sorting into like colors, counting how many necklaces you have, etc. 

7. Dump Truck Loads

Beads make great "dirt" that can be transported all over your house.

8. Tea Party Dress Up

We keep a few necklaces with the tea party set so they are always ready to complete the party.  Yes, a fairly traditional use, but you must get dressed up for a tea party and no one wants to waste time searching for their jewels!

9. Recycle Bottles into Learning Toys

Even harder than getting beads into a cup is getting beads into a plastic bottle.  Start with a wider mouth bottle and then progress to a smaller one.   (Note: You may have to cut the bottle apart to free the beads if the mouth is really narrow)

10. Make Music
Once you have a strand or two of beads in a bottle, put the top back on and shake them like maracas. Then put other beads on and march around your house as a parade.  It's a great stress reliever!

I am sure you will come up with lots of other ways to add some creative play with your beads.  If you do, please share!

If you don't have any beads, and just have to have some after reading this post, I have seen them at the dollar store, party store, and even Target.   Or, just wait a month for the local St. Patrick's Day Parade and get some then!

Happy playing!

- Carrie

--------------
More notes-
- We get rid of any necklaces that break.
- Beads contain small parts and you should always be aware of manufacturers warnings.

- We don't play with the necklaces that have connectors.