Today is April 1st which means it's April Fools Day. I really wanted to play some kind of trick on you guys, our readers, by announcing we were quitting this blog, or by putting up a 404 NOT FOUND page in it's place for the day. Lindsi convinced me it probably wasn't a good idea as people might take it seriously if they weren't paying attention. So, instead of a joke on you, I'm letting you in on a few awesome, last minute tricks you can play on your family... 1) Upside down/backwards house While your kids are at school today, turn everything that you can (photos, knick-knacks, whatever you can) upside down and/or backwards. When your kids ask what happened, act like you have no clue that things are different. If your kids are on spring break and are home today, slowly change things when they aren't in the room. 2) Blue toothbrush Put a small drop of blue food coloring in the middle of your child's toothbrush sometime today. When they go to brush their teeth tonight, … [Read more...]
Make your own laundry soap- Pinned it, Did it
I will admit I have always been skeptical of homemade laundry detergent. In fact, I often secretly laughed at those who made their own because I thought "there is no way it cleans as well as brand name, doesn't smell as good, doesn't whiten and brighten and could never wash way cleanly." Wrong! I found this pin on Pinterest and thought alright, I will give it a shot and see what I REALLY think. LOVE it!!!! I love it so much that I thought I'd share it with you. For a grand total of $38.78 I made enough laundry detergent to last my home of six people a year! I used the majority of her recipe but tweaked one little thing. The first thing you need to do is shred your bar soap (everyone complains about this part but I just popped it into my food processor and I was done in a matter of a minute). Once you have the soap shredded add it to a large bucket with all of the other ingredients and mix really well. Here's what you will need: 1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric … [Read more...]
Weeknight Quick Meal-mini dogs
Are you looking for a REALLY easy and REALLY quick dinner on a week night? Look no further! A fan favorite in our house is mini hot dogs! It's a take on something that I had a lot as kid myself. All you need are two things and a few minutes! Here's what you need: one package of mini hotdogs 1 tube of crescent rolls Cut the crescent roll triangles into three triangles. Each tube comes with 12 large triangles, so when you are done cutting them you will end up with a total of 36. Roll up a mini hot dog into each of the triangles (my kids love to help with this part!). Then place in the oven at 375F for about 8-10 minutes. You can also add other ingredients into the hot dog roll ups. Some people put a little piece of cheese in them and I have even heard of people putting a little bit of salsa too. … [Read more...]
Paint With Kool-Aid
Today, Toys In The Dryer is excited to bring you a guest post from Becky of Your Modern Family: With four kids ages six and under, I am always looking for a great activity to do with them. I taught elementary school before our oldest son was born and I know how every thing that you do with your children will teach them. Let them explore and learn and you will be amazed by them! Today we will learn how to make paint with kool-aid. This is a fun, easy activity to do with your children! It makes your house smell great and it is so much fun to do with your kids. It is a wonderful activity for creativity and working on fine motor skills. Add in a great story (read about rainbows and paint one) and you have just done a great learning lesson with your kids! Make paint with kool-aid: I bought a few packets of the off-brand (cheapest you can find) Kool-aid mix. To make this, you will want to start by getting out as many bowls as you have kids (or if you are separating by … [Read more...]
Easter Egg Memory Game
Looking for an Easter game that can keep your kids busy for a while? How about doing an Easter Egg Memory Game? My daughter thought this game was a blast and she played it multiple different ways too. It kept her busy for literally an hour! The only things you'll need are a bunch of plastic Easter eggs and the same amount of small, matching objects to put into the eggs. There are a few different ways to play the Easter Egg Memory Game depending on how hard or easy you want to make it. The basic way is to simply put the objects into the eggs, mix them up, then try to find the matching objects in the eggs. To make it easier: put matching objects in matching egg colors such as the pennies in two pink eggs, the buttons in two blue eggs. To make it harder: Mix up the egg colors such as a yellow top with a blue bottom or an orange top with a yellow bottom. You can also do similar items instead of matching items such as a penny and a nickle, two different buttons, or two … [Read more...]
Easter Peep Basket- Pinned it, Did it
The other day I was drooling over Pintrest posts (and I only say drooling because in all honesty I am obsessed with that site! I love the fabulous ideas people have, I love to see what people have done and figure out ways to improve upon them, and frankly I love to organize them). I saw the cutest Peep basket on there and immediately thought of my grandpa! The 83 year old man has a mean sweet tooth and he can put away several Peeps in one sitting. Thing is though, he doesn't like them fresh and soft....he likes them stale and chewy or almost hard. Goofy man! He came over to our house last week after my lil' princess had her surgery to meet my lil' king at the bus stop and I thought I'd surprise him with a Peep basket as a thank you for his help! Oh man he was so excited!!! It was really easy to do. I simply spent $2 at the dollar store (1 for the basket and 1 for the Easter grass). We had some sticks and Peeps already purchased and waiting for us at home. We filled the basket … [Read more...]
