Do you ever want to play with snow inside and not have it melt all over the place? Make your own fake snow! Perfect for these HOT July days! It's great for decorating , letting your kids drive their toy cars through or just plain playing in! All you will need is: A few unused disposable diapers (It would be super gross to use dirty diapers.) Water A container to mix in silver glitter (optional) Ok, now this is so easy you are going to think you missed something! 1) Cut open the diaper and pull out the inside absorbent layer. 2) Put it in the container and slowly add water 3) Mix until it becomes snow consistency! For powdery snow use less water, for slushy snow use more water. 4) Add a bit of glitter for some sparkle. (optional) My girls had a TON of fun playing with the snow! We attempted to add more water and make a snowman but it wasn't really successful. My girls did however, enjoy adding more and more water to see how slushy they … [Read more...]
Christmas in July- Make your own I Spy Bottle
Are you looking for a great gift? Perfect for all ages? Customized for each age, interest, gender and preferences. Make an "I Spy" bottle! It's super simple to make, and is good for kids of all ages (my husband loves it as much as my 2 and 5 year old!) Use the "I Spy" bottle for long car rides, laying low when your kids are sick, or keeping your little monsters busy when you need to clean. Here's what you'll need: A bunch of objects that are small enough to fit into a water bottle. An empty, completely dry water bottle without the label. Paper and pen Funnel (or a piece of paper to roll into a funnel) White rice Glue String, yarn, or ribbon Clear contact paper or laminating paper (optional) Now how to make it: Step 1) Have your kids help you hunt all over the house, garage, and outside for things to put in your bottle. Make sure to write on your paper everything you collect. Coins, nails/screws, Barbie or Polly Pocket accessories, Legos, hair stuff, … [Read more...]
Christmas in July- Christmas Tree Handprint
This just so happens to be an all time favorite Christmas present and is one of my all time favorite projects I have done with my kids. It's really easy and turns out just adorable! Gather the following supplies from your craft store or craft closet: 1 piece of white paper (large) (or a canvas-which is what I used- you can get them for pretty cheap) Green, yellow and brown paint 1 kid willing to get ooey and gooey carefully paint your child's hand with the green paint- make one row of 4 hand prints Then paint your child's hand again and make a row of 3 hand prints Next you will make a row of 2 hand prints on top of that Finally, 1 hand print on the very top Brown paint makes a stump and the yellow to make a star on the top. (Have your child autograph the tree with the year to mark the date) These make GREAT presents and they are always adored by grandparents. While making the tree I thought to myself....hmmm, what if I traced a circle really lightly in pencil … [Read more...]
5 fun songs to sing with your kids (you might remember some)
Source Say, Say Oh Playmate Say, say oh playmate, Come out and play with me, And bring your dollies three, Climb up my apple tree. Slide down my rain barrel, Into my cellar door, And we'll be jolly friends, Forever more - more - more! Verse 2 Say, say oh playmate, I cannot play with you, My dolly has the flu, Boohoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo. Ain't got no rain barrel, Ain't got no cellar door, But we'll be jolly friends, Forever more,more, more,more,more. Miss Mary Mack Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack All dressed in black, black, black With silver buttons, buttons, buttons All down her back, back, back She asked her mother, mother, mother For fifty cents, cents, cents To see the elephants, elephants, elephants Jump over the fence, fence, fence They jumped so high, high, high They touched the sky, sky, sky And didn't come back, back, back Till the fourth of July, July, July Nobody Likes Me Nobody likes me Everybody hates me Guess I'll eat … [Read more...]
Easy, No-Freeze, Homemade Ice Cream
We've had yet another heat wave in Minnesota this week so I thought it was about time that I taught my girls how to make easy, no-freeze, homemade ice cream. Yes, this recipe is no-freeze so it's super quick, and because it's homemade, it's super yummy too! To make your own, you'll need: 1/2 cup of half & half 1 Tablespoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1 sandwich size Ziploc bag 1 gallon size Ziploc bag 3 cups crushed ice 1/3 cup rock salt (sometimes called ice cream salt) Step 1) Put the half & half, sugar, and vanilla in the sandwich size Ziploc bag. Seal it tight. Step 2) Make sure the sandwich size Ziploc bag is definitely sealed. Step 3) Put the ice and rock salt in the gallon size Ziploc bag. Step 4) Add the sandwich size bag to the gallon size bag. Seal it tight. Step 5) Make sure the gallon sized bag is sealed tight. Step 6) Shake the bags for about 10-15 minutes until the ice cream forms. We ended up using a towel to hold … [Read more...]
Chore Chart and Rewards
The other day as I frantically cleaned my house, pending the arrival of several guests, I desperately tried to get my kids to help me. After several FAILED attempts I realized where I had gone wrong. It all goes back to a few years ago. I always cleaned the house when they were down for naps. They never saw the work that went into keeping the house clean, thus they never had to help. Fail on my part, big time! My kids had no accountability for chores and certainly no consequences for not completing chores. This had to change! Introduction to chore charts. I found this awesome Etsy store, Abbies House, that sold great chore charts and some awesome magnets to boot. My husband I discussed which chores we thought were appropriate and also added some for the future as they got older. We comitted to a purchase and we are in LOVE with these charts! (Just an FYI- Abbies House didn't ask me to do a review, I am doing it simply because I am so pleased with the quality and the … [Read more...]
