*Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday there will be no Fun Stuff Friday linky today we will see you next Friday!* On Tuesday, November 15th, Jamie had the opportunity to meet the actor Andrew Shue (Billy Campbell from Melrose Place) at the Minneapolis Suburbs Mom.com Premier Party. Unfortunately, Lindsi was unable to attend the party due to a death in her family. She missed a really fun and informative time! Ok, so what is Mom.com, why were they having a premier party, how is Andrew Shue involved, and why were we invited?? Lets start with Mom.com and Andrew Shue... Years ago, Andrew quit acting to spend more time with his family and pursue other adventures. He eventually co-founded Cafemom, one of the largest social networking sites for moms in the US. Cafemom is now off-shooting into another site called Mom.com... If you go to the Mom.com website now, it looks like your average daily deals site. However, the deals on the site have actual local moms acquiring them, standing … [Read more...]
Four Thanksgiving Activities for Kids and Adults
It's Thanksgiving Day and you've got a house full of kids and adults...how do you keep them all entertained? Try these four activities that will get them interacting together: Word Search/Memory Game: 1) Make a list of of Thanksgiving related words. How many words depends on the number of adults you think will be willing to participate. Number the words 1-?? 2) When your guests arrive, give each adult a word from the list along with what number it is plus the following word from the list. Give each child a piece of paper and pencil and word #1. 3) Throughout the day/evening the children will search for all the words in order by asking the adults to act out the word he/she (the adult) was assigned. 4) The children will ask the adults to act out words until they find #1. That adult will give them word #2 and the children will have to hunt for the adult that acts out word #2. That adult gives them word #3 and the process is repeated until the children have found all the … [Read more...]
How to make rainbow fish sun catchers using old CDs
We all have old CDs laying around that, for some odd reason, we haven't gotten rid of. If not, go through your kids' CDs, I'm sure you'll find some scratched, unusable ones in their collection! What do you do with those CDs (besides throw them away)? You make stuff out of them! I'm not a fan of cutting up CDs because they are full of heavy metals and once cut, the metals can leech out of them. I prefer to do crafts that do not require cutting them up and risking heavy metal exposure for me and my kids. Rainbow fish sun catchers are perfect! You'll need: Old CDs--2 per child Water soluble markers Coffee filters Super glue A spray bottle of water Scissors Small piece of paper Wiggly eyes String/yarn/fishing line Cookie sheet Step 1) Have your kids color all over the coffee filters with the markers. Step 2) Put the colored filters on the cookie sheet and spray them with the water so that the colors bleed. (The cookie sheet keeps the water and … [Read more...]
Easy Fallen Leaves Tree Craft
I came home from work the other day to discover these displayed in our living room: I guess my Mother-In-Law made them with the girls while I was gone and they were so cute I had to share them. Who knew my Mother-In-Law was crafty? I didn't! If you want to make these with your kids, here's what you'll need: A bunch of dried leaves with long stems (maple leaves work well) Markers, crayons, or colored pencils Cardstock, cardboard, or thicker paper (my Mother-In-Law used the back of clothes gift boxes so the project stood on it's own when done) Tape 1) Have your kids draw the trunk of the tree on the cardstock/cardboard. Let them add what ever other decorations they want to the base of the tree. Step 2) Bunch the leaves together like a bouquet of flowers lining the stems up together. Step 3) Tape the stem bunch to the cardstock/cardboard over the top of the drawn tree trunk. Step 4) Display and enjoy! … [Read more...]
Left-over Halloween Candy Treats
Halloween is over and your kids collected TONS of candy. What do you do with it all (besides simply eat it)? Here are some fun (though still not healthy) ideas for left-over Halloween candy: Cut up chewy or nuggety candy bars into bite sized pieces and bake them into the middle of a cupcake. Frost the cupcake then crumble more of the candy bar on top. Mix crumbled candy bars or smaller candies into ice cream, add a little milk, and blend it to make your own candy milkshake. Mix crumbled candy bars, Reeces Pieces, M&Ms or similar candies into cookie dough and bake for an extra special cookie treat. Break up chocolatey or caramely candies into small pieces and stir them into brownie dough. Bake for a deliciously gooey brownie treat. Make a candy pizza. Just search "candy pizza" in your internet browser for a ton of different recipes. Make this really awesome Halloween Candy Advent Calender or other cool things that I found at Alpha Mom. (This is … [Read more...]
10 Things we’ve learned as pediatric critical care nurses
If you've been reading our blog you know that Lindsi and I met at a Children's Hospital where we were both nurses. Lindsi worked there for 5 years, 4 of which were in the critical care units. She is now a stay-at-home mom. Jamie continues to work there in the pediatric intensive care unit, and has been in critical care for 11 years. The biggest thing we have learned during our years is that if you don't have a little bit of humor, you will not survive pediatric critical care nursing. It's a difficult job some days, but one that neither of us regret doing! Without further ado, here is our (humorous) take on 10 (serious) things we've learned while working as pediatric critical care nurses. 1) Peanuts, peas, grapes, and popcorn can cause your child to choke. In fact, any food can cause your child to choke. It's probably best just to put a feeding tube in your child's stomach and not give them anything by mouth. 2) Along those same lines as above, young children like to put … [Read more...]
