Hair disaster stories- we've all got one (or in my case several). I could share the horrid details of the time I went to the cheap-o place to get my hair cut and came out looking like a watered down poodle, but that could bring up a few tears. I could also share the time I decided that it would be a good idea to SHAVE off my "whispies" by my ears, you know, those ones that would be called sideburns if you were a guy, but then I'd have to admit it was only 3 years ago that I did that- oops! But in all seriousness, I wanted to share a recent and tragic hair disaster story with you. I have some pretty strong "curl genes" running through my locks and in Minnesota naturally curly hair and humid summer days don't mix well. Enter- hair straightener products! Yup, I thought it would be nice to start the summer off with hair that was more manageable. I won't go into details as to who makes the products I used to straighten my hair but I will tell you this...after carefully and tediously … [Read more...]
Back to School- Then and Now
Many kids are getting ready to head back to the books (or may have already depending on where you live). Jamie and I were talking about how things have changed. The conversation went a little like this: Lindsi- "I can't believe only 2 more weeks until S's first day of school!" Jamie- "Me either! I can't believe K is going to be in 1st grade. I just finished getting all of her school supplies. And I found the stylis that she needs for her iPad." Lindsi- "What? Her iPad? When did she get one of those?" Jamie- "She didn't. Each kid in her school gets one!" Lindsi- insert looooooooooong pause here "holy crap!" Then we chatted a bit more and decided on a few things that have drastically changed over the years. Before- you know, when our parents were in school, During- when we were in school, After- now that our kids are in school. Let's start off with math! Math was something I thought didn't change over time...but as you see below....it … [Read more...]
Oh I wish I were a….
I wanted to share this fun song with you all. This is a song I remember my aunt singing to me when I was a kiddo and now she sings it to my kids via Skype. It is really easy and super funny. She made the kids these great "verse" flash cards so they would know what comes next. Here are the words: Oh I wish I were a little mosquito (mosquito) Oh I wish I were a little mosquito (mosquito) For I'd nippy and I'd bitty under everybody's night Oh I wish I were a little mosquito (mosquito)! Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap (bar of soap) Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap (bar of soap) For I'd slippy and I'd slidey under everybody's hidey Oh I wish I were a little bar of soap (bar of soap)! Oh I wish I were a little striped skunk (striped skunk) Oh I wish I were a little striped skunk (striped skunk) For I'd climb up in the trees and perfume up all the breeze Oh I wish I were a little striped skunk (striped skunk)! Oh I wish I were a little can of pop (can of … [Read more...]
Fun on the Farm
We live in the burbs....no real farms close to us for several hours (by car). When my kids see animals that live on a farm it usually entails a state or county fair of some sort. My father in law lives on a farm. His home is a 6 hour drive straight north from us....354 miles to be exact. Survival in the car is #1 priority...what I mean is traveling with 4 kids ages 5, 4, 4, and 18 months gets tricky. The ever popular question "are we there yet?" gets asked in numbers so high that I cannot fathom to guess. Is it worth it? Absolutely! When we get there it is a whole new world. My kids peel themselves out of their car seats and head right for the toys on the farm. With 200+ acres there are lots of things to do and lots of space to do them in. Our Papa he is a crafty guy. He turned an old John Deer lawnmower into a safe, slow riding toy for the kids. He removed the blades and it turns off immediately if they stand up. He has lots of ATV's and 4 wheelers, or are those the same??? The … [Read more...]
Recycling for toy storage
Disclaimer- this is NOT a product review post and we're not endorsing Tide Pods, this is simply an example. Also we'd like to take a second to remind you to keep all cleaning products out of reach of children. This very product has been mistaken for candy by some children, please be careful, we love your kids and so do you. I personally love my laundry soap choice, it's quick and easy. The one thing that I do not like is the massive bottle of plastic I toss afterwards. I feel guilty and bad that I just added to the landfill. I love the way I re-use these containers for toy storage! Check it out.... First things first, wash and thouroughly dry the container out. Print out a photo of the object you are going to store in the container and add the word to it as well. By doing both you are teaching your child a few things---first, they are learning that things have a place and it makes things easier if they know where they go. Second they learn to match the way the word looks with … [Read more...]
Christmas in July- Santa Trail Mix
Santa Trail Mix- You know you NEED to make some!! Here's what you will need: 2 cups of red and green M&Ms 1 cup of dry roasted peanuts 1/2 cup of Craisins or other dried fruit 2 cups of Chex cereal (I used the rice version) Pretzels (holiday shaped ones are best) Bugles mini marshmallows coarse sugar 1 package of red melting discs (candy aisle) 1 package of green melting discs (same aisle) 1 package of white chocolate chips (or almond bark) Shortening Assembling the Santa hats, melt your red discs in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval (I added about 2tsp of shortening after the first round to help thin it out a bit). Or you can melt them in a double boiler if you wish too! Dip your Bugles in the red stuff (tee hee hee) and set aside on a piece of wax paper to dry and harden. Dip the larger end of the red Bugles in left over red discs or melted white chocolate and then dip immediately in coarse sugar. Snip the mini … [Read more...]
