Most of us moms do not like getting our pictures taken. Even if we don't mind being in front of the camera, we're usually the ones behind it. Very few of us have photos with our kids. I realized one day when Nutty was 18 months old that I wanted her to remember me should anything happen. I wanted her to have photos of us together, not just photos of mommy. Thus began my self-portrait taking with my girls. My first self-portrait with Nutty. I propped the camera on the dresser. I got tired of always having to ask people to take pictures of me and my girls. Most of the time when we were doing things there wasn't anyone else around to take the photos anyway. I learned to use the self-timer on my camera and to prop it on things to be able to take self pictures. Camera propped on a ladder. After a while, my girls began to think taking self portraits with mommy was fun and our little photo adventures became something fun to do when we were bored. Hand held … [Read more...]
Archives for 2012
The Importance of One-On-One Time With Your Child
On Monday, Lindsi did a post titled 9 Ideas for One-On-One Time With Your Child. Today, I'm going to emphasize why it's so important to do ideas like these, and spend one-on-one time with each of your children. As you may know, I recently reviewed the book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms." In my review post I said that the chapter "Make Special Mommy and Me Time" really struck a cord with me. You see, I spend a lot of one-on-one time with Tottie. She is my youngest, isn't in school yet, and hasn't made many friends who's houses she can go to on her own. I feel very connected to Tottie because of the amount of time I spend with her. On the contrary, I spend little to no alone time with Nutty, my oldest. She just finished Kindergarten, has many friends, and always has to deal with her little sister being around when she is home. I feel like I do not have a strong bond with Nutty. To be honest, I don't think Nutty and I ever had one-on-one time after Tottie was born … [Read more...]
9 ideas for one on one time with your child
Source With 4 kids it is difficult to find time every day to devote to one on one time with each one of my kids. It doesn't happen each day but I make sure they each get special time frequently. We call it "special time" because it usually involves something extra special. 1. Bowling- when was the last time you went bowling? My 5 year old, er um 5 1/2 year old, loves this special time. Sadly, he often beats me. The bumpers in the gutters deflate when it is my turn to bowl and I often end up right there! 2. Arts and Crafts- many stores have great arts and craft ideas in their dollar section. My kids don't really know it costs only a dollar so they don't care but, my daughter especially loves when she and I have crafty time together. source 3. Ice cream date- need I say more? Well in all honesty this is one that I enjoy just as much as they do. Sometimes I pick up one of my kids from pre-school early and take them to the ice cream shop by there school. … [Read more...]
Hand Print Sunflowers
Ready for a super easy, super cute, super fun craft? Hand Print Sunflowers! Here is what you will need: a small paper plate yellow construction paper green construction paper brown construction paper (or a brown marker) sunflower seeds glue scissors Have your child trace their hand (or help them if they are too young) on the yellow construction paper and make 5-6 different tracings. Help your child cut each hand out carefully. Glue (or tape) each hand to the back of the plate leaving a little space for the stem. Glue or tape a green strip of construction paper to the base, this will serve as the stem of the sunflower. Next flip the plate over and color in the plate with a brown marker or cut a circle of brown construction paper to fit on the inside of the plate. Smear glue all over the brown part of the plate and sprinkle sunflower seeds all over. And now you have an adorable Sunflower to add to your collection! … [Read more...]
Dump Cake
Don't let the name of this tasty treat fool you! It is SUPER good! My mom introduced our family to this recipe a few weeks ago and it has been a frequent request since then. To make this Dump Cake you'll need: 21-24 oz Cinnamon Spice apple pie filling (or plain apple pie filling and 2 tbsp cinnamon) 1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix (must be Duncan Hines without pudding in the mix) 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts 1/2 cup coconut (optional) 2 sticks of unsalted butter Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Now for the extremely easy and ubber fun part: Dump each ingredient (in the above order) evenly into a 9x13 inch baking pan to make layers of the ingredients. The butter will need to be cut into tablespoon size pieces and evenly placed across the pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping. … [Read more...]
12 fun Beach Day Activities
1. Fill a bucket relay- Set up a bucket a few feet from the water. Have each child race to the water and fill their hands with water and race back to the bucket to dump it in. Time them to see how fast they can fill the bucket up with water using only their hands! 2.Go on an archiological dig- Dig deep into the sand to find rocks and trinkets. Discuss how each item looks, feels, and even smells. Explain how the smooth rocks got their feel from the waves crashing over them and buffing them smooth. Tell them how the sharp and jagged rocks may not have been in the water very long and they haven't been smoothed by the water. 3. Look for sea glass- Did you know that glass is smooth after it has been in the water for some time? Mason jar glass often takes a blue color to it when it has been buffed by the waves and shore. Brown glass is usually from root(beer) bottles and red sea glass is considered one of the rarest colors! See if you can collect enough sea glass to make a mosaic … [Read more...]
