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Friday Favorites

Friday Pinterest Favorites

I am absolutely in love with this idea and every bit of it is inexpensive. Looking at the picture, I wasn’t sure what she used to make the lily pads and I worried about that part but reading her post answered all of my questions. The supplies are already on my shopping list for this weekend. I’m excited and I know Peyton, Sylas, and JoJo will be, too.

This shirt is so perfect. It’s cute, true, and right up my alley. Adding it to my Mother’s Day wish list. 😉

 

How cool is this? So easy, very little prep, and hardly any cleanup. No clean up at all if your kids take care of it all. 😉 We are working on letters like crazy lately so I’m always looking for new ideas. I plan on doing this on our sliding back door while I prepare and cook dinner tonight. I think it would also work for practicing name recognition and numbers, too.

I’m all about cute outfits, I just can’t put them together myself. I’m not even kidding. I used to be fashionable – before babies. Now I’m so far out of the loop that I don’t even know what’s in style or what looks good together. I either have to take Nevaeh shopping with me or I have to have Pinterest open while I shop. I am good at using Pinterest to guide me in the right direction at TJ Max. 😉 What do you all think of this outfit?

That’s it for today!! Share some of your favorite pins with me in the comments!

Categories
Craft Toddler and Preschool Age Fun

Handprint Frog

I’m a sucker for handprint artwork. I love looking back on the tiny little handprints made into some cute design. My kids have been interested in frogs lately, so we made handprint frogs!

They painted their own hand green. I let them do this part themselves because let’s face it, kids love to paint themselves so why not let them when there is a fair chance?

I helped them press their hand onto the paper so that we could get the whole hand print the first time. Sylas insisted that he do that part himself, too, so I mostly let him. I just pushed the tips of his fingers down to make sure we got the whole thing.

Once we got the handprints, I let the kids free paint while I added the little details that they are still too little to do themselves.

I added green circles with paint for where the eyes are, a green oval for where the mouth area is, and a smiley face. Then I cut out circles with white paper for the eyes. The circles for each frog were different sizes since the frogs were all different sizes. I wanted to make sure the eyes weren’t way too big or way too small for them. Then I used a sharpie to make the black part of the eye. You could also use googly eyes but I don’t have any on hand (surprising, but it happens) so I used paper.

Once the paint dried, Sylas and Josie (with my help) cut the tongue, curled it, glued it on with a glue stick, and added the eyes. We curled them by wrapping them around a pencil. I curled the tongue for Liam’s frog.

Aren’t they the cutest? I made the oval on Liam’s a little too wide so I might have to re-do his later, but I still love it!

Have your littles made any cute crafts lately? Tell me about them in the comments and leave a link if you’ve blogged about it! I’d love to see them.

Categories
Big kid fun Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

Oobleck

Peyton asked if we could make oobleck and while I wanted to say no, how can I deny him a little messy fun?!

Plus, it’s so easy and the perfect activity for a rainy day… or so I thought. The joke was on me. IT IS SO MESSY. But, so much fun. The next time we make it will be when the weather is nice and we can play with it outside and then hose off afterward.

Oobleck is solid when it’s pushed on, but liquid when you try to pick it up. How cool is that?

 

It’s so easy and you probably have the ingredients on hand right now.

  • Pour 1 cup of water into a bowl. A small one will be fine but if you are letting kids help stir, you may want a slightly bigger one.
  • Start adding cornstarch to the water. Start with 1 and a half cups and go up from there if it’s too liquidy. It’s easiest to use your hands to stir it but we always start with a spoon.
  • This is where you can add food coloring if you want. We didn’t.
  • Get messy and have fun!

Categories
Craft Toddler and Preschool Age Fun

Create a Bug Craft

When springtime comes, so do the bugs!! We have been seeing bugs everywhere outside, and inside our house, we are seeing ants. UGH. I know, I know, ants are harmless. I still don’t want them in my house. Chris will DEFINITELY be spraying that bug killer/repellant stuff around the house this weekend because JoJo and I are sooooo over the ants.

Anyhow, I thought it would be fun to create our own little bugs to celebrate this warm weather we are having. After seeing the bugs that my kids created, I am SO THANKFUL we only have ants in our house. If I saw one of their bugs crawling across the floor, I’d burn the house down. On paper, they are VERY cute, though… just don’t bring these little guys to real life please. 😉

Peyton and I cut all the pieces ahead of time. We wanted a variety of shapes and sizes to work with, so we just free handed everything. Sylas and Josie worked on cutting, too, but they used crafting scissors to cut strips with designed edges for a different project.

Once the cutting was finished, everyone chose a blank piece of colored paper. We used glue sticks and began making our own bugs. It was so much fun. Sylas loved it and exclaimed how awesome the project was a couple times while making them. They aren’t as “pretty” as some of our others, but we definitely enjoyed this one. I loved that we each got to do something different and all of the kids were excited to check each others’ craft out.

Sylas’ bug
Mommy & Liam’s bug. Liam mostly just played with the glue stick and tried crumpling the paper, but he loved joining in on our big kid crafts.
Peyton’s bug
Josie’s bug. Can you tell she loves yellow?

 

Categories
Meal Plan Printables

Meal Plan with Printable

So, before I began meal planning, we would have nothing in the house for dinner. I’m not even kidding. Chris or I would be running to the store on our lunch breaks or after work to pick up something quick to cook. Since this is how we did it, we rarely had anything new and exciting for dinner. We were just grabbing simple things that we could grab and go. OR, even worse, we were just grabbing fast food on our way home. It was awful. We were spending way more money than we should have been, wasting time, and not really enjoying our meals.

Once I began meal planning, things changed. We hardly ever eat fast food anymore and we all enjoy dinner more. I plan dinners for two weeks, do my grocery shopping during the weekend, and then we are all set for the next two weeks.

When I meal plan for breakfast and lunch it’s pretty simple and honestly, we hardly ever have what is actually on the plan for these meals. I only put it on the plan so I know what food to buy and have an idea of what options we have. We always have eggs, bread, ingredients for pancakes, bagels, lunch meat, frozen pizza (on days we need a quick lunch), PB&J, on hand anyway so we stick with this most times. On the weekends our breakfasts get a little fancier because we have more time. During the week Chris, Peyton, and Nevaeh have to leave for work and school pretty early so we do quick stuff. My toddlers are so easy when it comes to breakfast… Sylas always wants Honey Bunches of Oats (in our house these are known as Honey and Boats since Sylas couldn’t say the whole thing when he first started eating them a couple years ago) and a banana, and JoJo always wants eggs, toast, milk, and a banana. Liam eats whatever is put in front of him, so it varies.

Anyhow… back to my meal plan.

So, the way that I do it is super simple.

  • Make a list of the meals you plan to have. Don’t bother writing the ingredients out just yet. Simply make a list of however many meals you are planning for. I do two weeks at a time, so 14 meals. We do eat leftovers once a week, but I still put “leftovers” on the list just so I don’t get confused thinking I missed two days.
  • Plan for events and late nights. If you have big kids who have sporting events or school activities, make sure you think about that when you are planning your meals. You will want to plan a crockpot meal or a leftover night on those nights. Peyton has baseball on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we normally do a crockpot meal on Tuesdays and leftovers on Thursdays.
  • Write the ingredients for one meal at a time. I don’t look at all the meals that include one pound of chicken and then write, “3 pounds of chicken” on my list. I only look at one meal at a time and write out the ingredients for only that meal. It seems tedious, but I find that I stay more organized and don’t miss ingredients or add too many of a certain thing to the grocery list. I do this on a piece of scrap paper or on the back of the printable (included below) and add the ingredients to the grocery list on my printable later.
  • Check your pantry. Sometimes I forget what I have on hand and I hate wasting money. Nothing irritates me more than buying something and then discovering the exact ingredient is already in my pantry at home. I learned my lesson quickly here. Once my list is finished, I go through my cupboards and pantry and cross any items off the list that I already have.
  • Re-write the ingredients in an organized way. So now that you have all the ingredients written out separately and you crossed off any items you already have, it’s time to organize. The way that I do this is by imagining my grocery store and starting in the back of the store. Anything that is in the back, I put at the beginning of my list. I go through all the individualized ingredient lists for meals and THEN I combine all the ingredients. This is where the “3 pounds of chicken” gets written instead of “1 pound of chicken”. I visually work my way to the front of the store, writing my list in the order that I will shop. This organized list gets written on the printable.
  • Check your meal plan each night. Don’t mess up your meal plan and be stuck with fast food for dinner because you forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer!! Can you tell we eat a lot of chicken? It’s been my example every time. LOL. But seriously, this has happened to me more times than I’d like to admit. I start getting my ingredients out to make dinner only to realize I never took the frozen meat out of the freezer the night before. UGH. Then I have to do the “call of shame” to my husband and tell him we have nothing for dinner. Oops.

 

I didn’t get a picture of my Meal Plan list filled out before I tossed it (I clearly wasn’t thinking), but I’ll share a list of the dinners I have planned for the next two weeks.

Mon: Slow Cooker Potato Soup – This is the best potato soup recipe I have EVER tried and I have tried a bunch of them. I do leave the bacon out, however.
Tues: Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells – When I made this before, I thought it has too much spinach so I am going to put less spinach this time.
Wed: 30-min Garlic Parmesan Pasta With Crispy Chicken
Thurs: Leftovers
Fri: Tacos
Sat: Taco Stuffed Potatoes
Sun: Pizza
Mon: Stuffing Topped Pork Chops
Tues: Chicken Enchilada Soup
Wed: Corn Chowder
Thurs: Leftovers
Fri: Ham and Turkey Club Sliders
Sat: Chicken Fried Rice – One of my husband’s FAVORITE recipes. He takes the leftovers to work with him every time.
Sun: Pizza

 

Every recipe for this current meal plan we have tried before and loved EXCEPT the corn chowder. That is the only recipe we haven’t tried yet. For the Taco Stuffed Potatoes, we use taco leftovers from the day before. We have also tried it with chicken tacos and it is just as delicious (if not MORE delicious).

 

Meal Plan Printable

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meal Plan Printable in color

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meal Plan Printable Vaeh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell me what is on your meal plan for the week! I’d like to see your yummy ideas. Oh, and tell me which version of the Meal Plan printable you downloaded. I couldn’t decide which one was the cutest!

Categories
Friday Favorites

Friday Pinterest Favorites

It’s Friday!!! That means I’m here to share some of my favorite pins that I came across this past week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Just click on the images and you’ll be taken directly to the website these pins came from.

From MamaSaysSigns on Etsy

I am so in love with this sign. I’m adding it to my wishlist so maybe my husband will buy it for me for Mother’s Day. The message is such a good reminder for parents who are stressed out and at their wits end with the littles. When we are frustrated and feeling like the day will never end, it’s always good to remember that the day will end, and that’s another day gone. Another day where our babies grew a little too much, and another day closer to our littles being big kids.

From craftymorning.com

How cute is this, right?! We actually created some of these for breakfast today. Sylas and Josie couldn’t stop laughing and holding these in front of their faces, making bear sounds. Who says breakfast can’t be fun?

From Stitchfix

I love the simplicity of this outfit, while it is still so cute. It would be perfect for spring or summer and looks comfortable enough to be able to chase after toddlers while wearing it.

From craftcreatecook.com

DIY Birdhouse – This one is definitely my number one favorite find of the week. It is the perfect craft for spring and I know my kids will have so much fun making it. Plus, feeding the birds will be something we can enjoy doing together for as long as these feeders last. I am sooo excited to help my littles create these birdhouses.

 

Please share some of your favorite pins with me in the comments!! I’m a Pinterest-obsessed mama, so no holding back, please! 😉

Categories
Infant/Toddler Learning Kindergarten Age Learning Parenting Toddler and Preschool Age Fun Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

9 YouTube Songs for Kids to Have Fun While Learning and Moving

I’ll be the first to admit that my kids love YouTube. From watching other kids play with toys to practicing Spy Ninja skills, my kids are obsessed. While I don’t always love the things they watch, I’m pretty open to letting them watch whatever they enjoy, as long as it’s age-appropriate. I also require that they watch at least some content that enforces brain development, learning, or movement through songs for kids.

YouTube can be a great learning tool when it comes to researching new things and reinforcing things that have already been learned. You can find good ideas on YouTube and watch funny videos when you need a laugh. Plus, you can find any song you want on YouTube, which is what I use it for the most. When I’m cleaning at nap time or writing a blog post in the living room, I turn on quiet music for myself. Before lunch, however, we use it for toddler songs and dance.

My kids LOVE the songs we find on YouTube. Josie is my dancing queen and could literally sing and dance to YouTube videos forever. I put songs for kids on the TV and we go through our favorites a few times before lunch. These songs get kids moving, and they are fun and easy to learn and remember.

The Best YouTube Songs for Kids

My kids remember these songs long after the TV is off, too. They sing them when they are laying in bed, playing with their toys, and even at the dinner table. Music is a big part of our everyday life, and it is a great developmental tool for young kids. Singing songs promotes memorization and language skills, amongst many other benefits.

Songs for Kids

What are your favorite songs for kids on YouTube? We would love to check them out so post the title or a link in the comments!

Categories
Coffee Date

Coffee Date – April

If we were on a coffee date I would tell you how my kids were using Cheetos as “dinosaurs” during snack time. Complete with “rawrs” and dinosaur attacks. I would tell you that I let them, even though they aren’t supposed to play with their food, because sometimes it’s easier that way and sometimes mama is a softy.

If we were on a coffee date I would tell you that I’m dreading Peyton’s baseball practice tonight because it’s too cold to do anything outside. Then I would complain about the weather, like the rest of us Michiganders, because it’s April and this is RIDICULOUS. Seriously, snow this morning and the real feel was 18 degrees when the kids and I went outside to play. OVER. IT.

If we were on a coffee date I would tell you how Josie has been falling asleep while playing her guitar for the past two days at nap time and bedtime. I have a musician on my hands and I’m so excited about it. I’d tell you that I’m going to have to buy her a new guitar because hers is missing a string and she couldn’t learn on a guitar that’s missing a string! I would also tell you how much she loves to sing. Do we have a Taylor Swift in the making? hmmmm…

 

If we were on a coffee date I would tell you how Liam is struggling with cutting SIX teeth. That’s right, SIX at one time. He’s been cranky and miserable and hasn’t been eating much. He had a fever yesterday and slept most of the day. He’s been wanting cuddles and something to chew on and when he does decide to play, he wants mama really close by because he comes to have his back rubbed every few minutes.

Telling you about Liam’s teeth would then start a conversation about how sad I am that my babies are all grown up. I love watching them learn and grow, but I’m sad because they’re getting so big.

Then I would tell you that I enrolled Sylas in preschool last week. PRESCHOOL. Can you believe it?! I sure can’t. My first born baby is going to be starting PRESCHOOL in the fall. What will I do without him?!

If we were on a coffee date I would spend the whole time talking about my kids because that’s all I talk about. LOL

If we were on a coffee date what would you tell me?

Categories
Toddler and Preschool Age Learning

Play Dough Letters

If your kids are anything like my kids, they will love this method of learning to write letters. With two kids in the house who are learning letters, I am always looking for new ways to teach them. Pencil and paper do the trick, but I want them to be inspired by new ways, as well. My kids love play dough so incorporating play dough and letters seemed like the perfect way to further their learning.

We did it a couple of different ways. First, I had them roll their play dough flat and then gave them tools to “write” with. I put out flashcards with letters on them, as well, so the kids could copy what they see and I worked with my own dough while they worked so that they could see the way I did it. I always find that they learn best when they can see it being done and do it at the same time. I wasn’t sure if the flashcards would help but Sylas actually referenced them while he was working. We worked on letters S (for Sylas), J (for Josie), and A.

The second way we used play dough to learn letters was by forming the letters with playdough. I taught them to rip a piece of the dough off, roll it in their hands until it’s long like a snake, and then form it into the letter they want to make.

They wanted to make shapes this way, as well. It could work for any learning concept!

They really loved making letters with play dough and asked if we can do it again tomorrow. I’m completely okay with that because it’s easy to clean up and there are not many materials involved.

For older kids, this would be a good way to practice sight words and spelling words.

What are some of the ways you teach your kids to make their letters?

Categories
Our Family

For Such a Little While

One day, my kids won’t want me around all the time. They won’t want me to go with them to school, or to join them on playdates with friends. They won’t want me running around at the park and going down slides with them. They won’t even always come to me when they are hurt or sad. Someday, life will be different. They may not want me for everything when they’re older but right now, I am their whole world. It’s hard for me to imagine my babies not needing me. I’m only their world for a little while, they’ll be my world forever.

I used to get frustrated when they needed me for every little thing or when my house was always a hot mess because of the kids. I took it for granted. When I went back to work full time, it hit me – they are everything to me. I want to be there for every little bump and bruise. I want to see every achievement, no matter how small. I want to be there when they learn to hop on one foot or button their own pants. I’m not kidding, I want to be there for everything. Every. Little. Achievement. So, I quit my job (the cost of childcare made this decision even easier, honestly).

Some call this a hover mom, some call this plain psychotic, but I hate being away from my kids. Don’t get me wrong, I grumble about not having any time to myself or about never having time away with my husband but, while this time away is nice (and much needed), I’m still always thinking about my littles. They are always becoming more and more independent and I know that the days of fewer cuddles and less of them needing mama are coming quicker than I can comprehend. Maybe this stems from me having 3 kids in such a short amount of time. This is it. These are the only baby years I’ll ever experience. I am soaking it up. I have to.

Now, I am looking around my house at the mess we’ve made. There are goldfish cracker crumbs on the floor that I have already swept two times today. There are rainboots on my kitchen counter. There is a basket of clean laundry, unfolded, sitting by the stairs. I probably couldn’t find my remote (again) if I wanted to watch TV, and my car keys might be missing, too. It’s fine.

 

Seriously, it really is fine. I used to feel like a failure and I’d be frantic and grumpy when my house would look this way, which was all the time. It honestly used to look worse. When I learned to love being home with my kids all the time, I learned how to balance the household duties a little better, as well. It all fell into place once I realized that this is where I want to be. Where I need to be. So, while things are not ever perfect, my babies are perfect and precious, and they are my whole world. I am only their whole world for a short time, they are my whole world forever. I want to have these memories. I want to have the messy house if that means I can make memories with my kids every day. I want to have the hectic mornings rushing around to playgroups and story times because that means we were making more memories. I want to hold their hand and walk through the park or go down a slide with them sitting on my lap.

Nothing is better than giving Josie butterfly and Eskimo kisses or having her run her soft palms across my cheeks. Nothing is better than hearing Liam laugh at every little thing or feeling his sweet, cuddly hugs. Nothing is better than having Sylas cuddled up next to me or chatting my ear off about his plans for the day. I live for these little things. I can’t miss out on them.

The other day Liam started fussing in his crib at nap time. I started to go in his room when I heard Sylas singing You Are My Sunshine to Liam. This is the song I sing to Liam when he’s sad or when I’m putting him to sleep. My heart melted when I heard Sylas comforting his brother. Josie is just as sweet to Liam. She’s always making sure he has his blanket and rubs his back or hugs him when he is fussing. She gives him his bottle even when he doesn’t need it, and she cannot let any of her siblings go to bed without giving them a hug and a kiss first. Missing out on their bond would kill me more than anything.

There is nothing more precious than a child, and I can’t fathom the idea of missing out on any of the precious days with them. I am going to soak up the few years I have left and embrace all that God has given me. They need me, and I need them just as much.