{La-de-la-de-da}

Perler Bead Magnets

2012-02-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

I l-ooo-ved playing with perler beads when I was younger. Turns out, I still do.

It was CB's idea to bust the beads out this morning, but I stayed at it long after they had moved on to other endeavors.

CB made a star so she could sing Twinkle Twinkle to it every night while she is lying in her bed and BBD made a "friend snake".

I made magnets.

That is a panda, ninjas, and butterflies unless you were uncertain.

I also made photo corners, but my magnets are too big so I need some smaller ones to complete them.
AND they glow in the dark.

Valentine Swap: The Giving

2012-02-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

I participated in the Valentine Swap organized by Aunt Peaches. I am so glad she did this. I thoroughly enjoyed making them and waiting to see to who and where I would be sending them. I can't wait to see the Valentines I will receive in the mailbox!

While I made my Valentines, I put out a smorgasbord of Valentine-y materials for my kiddos as well.

Here they are with their finished creations:

Here are mine:

I stamped, colored, and applied glitter glue.
Oh, and I used pop up dots because I love them.

I also included a punny Valentine wish:

{I can't show you my made-for-family ones...not yet}

I am seriously hoping this can be a new tradition. I love it so.

Shutterfly

2011-11-27T20:48:00.001-08:00

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Pretty pleased with our card.

Thankful for

2011-11-24T11:18:00.001-08:00

Flower Petal Suncatchers

2011-10-22T08:08:00.001-07:00

We gathered flowers from our garden.

My daughter wanted to do this outside which made the project even more enjoyable.

We pulled off the petals and got creating by placing them onto clear contact paper. We sandwiched the petals with another piece of clear contact paper and cut around the edges. We then taped them in the window.

I was pretty pleased with my butterflies.

Please note: The beauty of this project is temporary. The petals will still wilt.

Inspiration for this project was found at The Artful Parent.

Explosive Art

2011-08-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

We made some explosive art using paint, baking soda, and vinegar in baggies. Directions found here at Share and Remember.

It was really neat.

But following the recipe and staying on the paper were only the beginning. Free for all is more our style.

After making several exploding baggies, CB declared, "And now, I'm going to experiment."

And they both did their own thing.

CB: It's thick. I didn't add in much vinegar. I added in lots of baking soda.
I'm being a scientist.
And for the grand finale!
The purple is the star of the show!

BBD: I'm mixin'.
This needs some red. {insert each and every color}
I need more vinegar.
I need more baking soda.

Prettiest puddle ever.

The paper became rather obsolete.

"Daddy's going to like all these colors on his concrete!"

Linking up:

Play Academy Idea Swap

Sewing For Sweet Dreams

2011-08-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

I have not sewn with a sewing machine since high school, when I took Home Ec from a crazy lady in a hideous wig.

My avoidance was mostly due to an irrational fear of the bobbin.

But a friend was trusting enough to let me borrow her machine so I faced my fears and another friend took the time to patiently run me back through the basics.

Kelli did not don a crazy lady wig and she taught me a magical bobbin threading slight of hand. The relearning process was not traumatic like I had been mentally preparing myself for.

I even fixed a few hiccups all by myself without panicking.

As soon as CB saw what I was fiddling around with, she requested a sleeping bag for her beloved mermaid Barbie doll.

Being just recently reacquainted with the sewing machine, our sleeping bags do not have zippers. The small children do not care. And I threw in some matching pillows to cushion {I am sew punny!} any disappointment, had it arisen.

I had some lovely assistants.

They helped stuff their own pillows.

The mermaids thanked me and rushed off to take a nap in their new designer gifts.

Naturally, a story and lullabies were required.

Hide and Seek

2011-07-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

CB found a great hiding spot. Daddy had to call "olly olly oxen free".

BBD was visible as soon as you stepped around the counting tree.

Hiding together

Searching

"Found you" faces

All found

ps
this is the gazebo where we were married

Big Eye Puppets

2011-07-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

These puppets are ridiculously easy to make and ridiculously fun to play with.

I was inspired by Fave Crafts.

I like the soft texture of the pom pons over Styrofoam and went for simplistic over fancy-fied, but the openendness and ease of design is the beauty of these bad boys.

I simply put hot glue on the end of a pipe cleaner and smooshed it into the pom pon. Repeat and hot glue on some large wiggle eyes. And ta da!

"Mmmm, ice cream time"

2011-07-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

*CB

We picked up some 89 cent ice cream cones from Burger King.

BBD was disappointed that chocolate wasn't an option, but not enough that he wanted to share with the little creature he was pretty sure was eying his treat, "This ice cream isn't for you, butterfly!"

Vanilla was totally fine with CB. After her first taste she exclaimed, "I want this recipe!"

The ice cream cones got Daddy reminiscing about getting ice cream cones with his grandmother. Sweet.

Sometimes life gives you lemons and you can turn them into lemonade.

Sometimes your ice cream falls off your cone and you can turn that into a delightful work of art.

Crushed Chalk Sidewalk Paint

2011-07-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

We made sidewalk chalk paint by crushing up chalk bits with a hammer.

The kids delighted in using the hammer all by themselves.

You control the thickness of the paint by how much water you add.

Note: If you let the 3 year old pour the water all on his own, the paint will be very liquidy.

The kids also used spoons to paint. CB took a drizzling approach, while BBD was into flinging and pouring.

Rocks were also submerged and scattered.

Our chalk "dust" had plenty of chunks as well so the texture turned out really interesting.

Inspiration from The Chocolate Muffin Tree.

Play Academy

"I like muddy pies!"

2011-07-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

* BBD

"Are you proud of me for making mud?"

Yeah, I kind of am.

"It's blllaaaahhhh!"

BBD's:

CB's:

It is a happy face.

Mama's:

After, the pies had baked in the sun, BBD wanted to know, "Can I eat it?"

At least he asked.

Sidewalk Splatter Paint

2011-07-01T13:37:00.001-07:00

Old socks filled with rocks and dipped in sidewalk chalk paint. There is dripping, splatting, rolling, throwing, spreading.

Note:

This activity is messy, slippery, wrecks havoc on the socks, and is so much fun.

Inspired by A Happy Wanderer

Operation: Buried Treasure

2011-07-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

The Objective: Bury treasure in the sandbox for the brother to uncover.

Phase 1:

Acquire treasure.

Phase 2:

Develop a cover story.

"I am just selling beans. That's right, just some boring old beans."

Phase 3:

Lure the brother away from the sandbox so that the treasure may be properly buried.

Phase 4:
Wait for the brother to dig up the treasure and/or notice he is right on top of it.

Phase 5:

Grow impatient, start giving clues {CB: Look, there is something white. BBD: That is a ball.}, and resort to pointing out where he should dig.

Phase 6:

Delight in discovering the treasure!

Phase 7:

Appoint and arm a steadfast crew.

Phase 8:

Load treasure onto your trusty pirate ship.

Phase 9:

Take sail and celebrate by blowing bubbles.

Branch Blocks

2011-06-26T17:03:00.001-07:00

Daddy cut some branches into blocks. Love him.

All different kinds of wood. Aren't they beautiful?

The children decided they should go in the sandbox.

Of course, they were right.

Kung Fu Shooting

2011-06-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Daddy and I were lamenting the lack of prizes in cereal boxes nowadays.

Our cries were heard, for behold:

We'll take 2!

The kids wanted to just dig them out, but I told them they had to wait till we ate our way to them, old school style. Which is hard for me. But we put in a lot of hard work, forcing ourselves to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch for dessert.

Just to mess with them, Daddy told them there must have been a mess up at the factory because there were no spin fighters in either either box!

Gasp!

Actually, they handled this staggering disappointment really well. So well, I questioned their relation to me, but just for a minute.

Sly style, he put the toys into their snack bags for a long car ride.

The girl found hers first and was delighted.

BBD went into such a feverish panic searching his bag that he kept missing it.

Ah, sweet relief!

Daddy accidentally threw away the boxes without cutting out the Kung Fu Panda character targets, but I was able to overlook this monstrosity because I had something better.

Our family. Ninja style.

These are made using the "Star Shooter" templates from the fabulous Kim and Jason, who have made it their life mission to help people battle Adultitis. Join the small rebellion.

Look out, I have horrible aim and apparently cheat. Look how close I am.

There was enthusiastic yelling of, "Push the red button!" and CB raised the age old question, "How do you tickle a ninja?"

Father's Day Championship 2011

2011-06-20T08:34:00.001-07:00

In honor of this handsome man:

*swoon*

For Father's Day this year we had a championship competition with this bad boy of a trophy at stake:

Yeah, it is a beauty.

Whoever wins the most mini games, wins the trophy.

LEGO BINGO:
Such concentration.
And I appear to be suspicious of BBD, not sure why, but chances are, it was well founded.

Anyway,

I won!

Want your own Lego Bingo? I got it here from Big D and Me.

ZOO RACE:
When Daddy saw the commercial for this he wanted it. Badly. We watched the commercial over and over.

We each made an animal and took turns racing. The first animal to "escape the zoo", wins.

Sub par video of only the last little bit of one race:

The race I should have recorded...

Things got a little intense at the end.

That's right. Me, again.

FOOT RACE:

The best part, by far, is the warming up.

Daddy is victorious.

HORSE SHOES:
Or as it shall be known from this day forth: Shoe Horses.

Turns out I do much better with a more frisbee like approach. Wish Daddy would have let that little gem of advice drop earlier...

No matter where BBD's horse shoe landed, including the roof, he would say good naturedly, "Oh, sooo close!"

Little devil,

he won.

SWIPE:
BBD lost interest in Shoe Horses way before Daddy did. He entertained himself with the cold pool and a ball.

I threw in a butterfly net. From that a new game was born.

We played Swipe two ways. 1) how many balls can you swipe in a set amount of time and 2) how long does it take you to swipe ALL of the balls out of the pool.

Daddy won both ways.

Next year, I am thinking that we will each have our own net so things can get really spicy. The ample opportunity for elbowing will give BBD the advantage.

Heads up, I will be refining my swipe (and elbowing) skills.

PRETTY, PRETTY PRINCESS:

I am not allowed to post this picture in all of it's original glory. So you get fierce dragon glory, which is the next best thing.

VIDEO GAME:
We lit it up with Mario Party 8.

BBD won.

It was well deserved. He was definitely the most dramatic.

He is actually laughing in that second shot. Not to mislead you, there were plenty of tears too, I just didn't get a picture of that.

PIE EATING CONTEST:
This event was Daddy's idea, of the chocolate cream variety.

Hands were not allowed to touch the pie. This raised no eyebrows in our household, but I had a hard time swallowing because it gave me a case of the giggles. Not so good when you are going for speed.

I looked up while trying to breathe better to see that this girl had polished off her piece and was in the process of licking the plate clean:

That is her second piece of pie in the picture. Like a victory lap.

And somehow, her face is the least messy.

At dinnertime, BBD asked, "Can we eat like animals again?"

The score sheet:

So Daddy got to rightfully claim the trophy he had already been claiming for awhile now.

And planning for next year's competition has started.

Daddy has already asked me what games we will be playing next year. CB has appointed herself to a more active role on the planning committee. "I have lots of plans for this competition. I just shared one opinion." At last count she had 5 new activities.

While this idea was perfect for our Daddy, it was not my own. I got it here at Make and Takes.

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Here Be Booby Traps

2011-06-07T10:12:00.001-07:00

It may look like she is simply running across the lawn, but if you listen carefully you may note that she is in fact traversing some pretty complicated booby traps.

She makes it look so easy doesn't she?

This led to a more visible, tangible, extensive booby trap obstacle course:

I enjoy CB's sound effects and dramatic "Nooooooo".

I admire BBD's ability to multitask. Eating a bagel and negotiating your way through perilous booby traps = impressive.

Playtime at

Gluesticks: Summer Fun Link Party

A sappy gift

2011-05-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

This is a gift full of elite inside jokes, so don't feel bad of you don't "get it" on a deeper, hilarious level.

But I thought the ideas could work for other people with outstanding senses of humor.

The awesomeness of the mustache pen was accomplished with hot glue, a little bit of felt and clippings of yarn.

The best suggestion box evah is made following this origami post it note boxes tutorial, cutting a teensy slit in the top, and by adding a little strip of self stick magnet on the back.

Spray Bottle Savvy

2011-05-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Spray bottles are better than squirt guns for water fights. Just sayin'.

They are also fun to paint with. A little liquid watercolor added to plain old water goes a long way.

PS-this is totally about the process, the paper turned out totally warped and unappealing, but they sure were fun to make.

WATER PLAY link up at NurtureStore

Mother's Day Garden Pictures

2011-05-22T17:22:00.001-07:00

These are what we made at preschool for Mother's Day.

I love them because they are beautiful, personalized, and hit a slew of developmental skills such as dictation (when you write down your child's words to show the connection of meaning and print while showcasing how important their words are), showing appreciation, fine motor (tracing, cutting, using a dropper, gluing), and vocabulary (object and color naming, parts of a flower).

The dictations were so sweet. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

* She gives me a kiss.
* She feeds me.
* My mom gives me Spongebob, and pizza, and cake, and board games, and soda, and bubbles! Yeah! Lots of stuff!
* My mom is going to take me to...{dramatic pause} the bouncy house!
* Builds me cookies.

The stem is made by tracing the child's hand and forearm.
The petals are made by folded up coffee filters which were painted with liquid watercolors with droppers.
The children can add details such as leaves and grass by tearing or cutting scraps of paper.
Die cuts of various garden bugs and flowers were available for added embellishments and as backgrounds for the dictations about what we love about our mothers.

Story Stones

2011-05-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

The eggs for our more traditional hunt were each filled with a hand drawn story stone. To make the pictures I used fine tip Sharpie markers. I look forward to adding to our collection over time. I already see a need for a ninja and cyclops to join the crew.

At first, CB thought the stones told one set story. She recovered quickly and was soon off and running in telling her own tale which involved the rain putting out the dragon's fire. BBD joined in with a story about a train running into a mountain.

Check out Valerie's post for her inspiring take on story stones.

Scavenger Treasure Hunt

2011-05-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

I made a treasure map, ripped it into sections, and put each section in an egg. Each clue led to the next, with the last stop being their baskets.

I also made a duplicate map on regular paper and used color coded stickers to help me hide them in the correct order.

Bobbypin Vases

2011-05-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

For the Grandmothers for Mother's Day I made bobby pin vases.

I love how simple and versatile they are. And that I can upcycle some jars.

The grandchildren provided the initial artwork. But were not so cooperative for the photo op.

I found the idea and tutorial over at Skip to my Lou.

Dry legos are over rated

2011-05-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

"I am giving them water cause they are thirsty.
I don't want them to dry out."

"I am giving the flowers bumble bee juice. {whisper of explanation} The flowers call the water honey."

I make my boy proud. "My mom turned on the water." And that feels mighty good.

Come play...

WATER PLAY link up at NurtureStore

Cyclops

2011-05-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

EPIC BATTLE

2011-05-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

Dance Party

2011-05-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

Around the Block

2011-05-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our Adventures: Illustrated

2011-05-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Stick man Style

I got this wonderful idea here.

And I love Roo and her drawings.

Here is some of our story...

Painting with plastic eggs

2011-04-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

I saw this post on Teach Preschool, loved it, pinned it, and then was foolish enough to think I could pull it off from memory.

I forgot the tip about using liquid starch. But I didn't have any liquid starch handy anyway.

Also, my particular eggs did not have holes. How lame is that?!

Not a big deal because the children enjoyed themselves just fine.

CB was in a paint brush mood and BBD just wanted an egg to "rock n roll".

CB decided to make "spring pictures" for all 17 of her classmates and a couple of other dear friends. Each one needed to be properly packaged in an envelope complete with sticker stamps.

That girl is a giver.

{This will be revisited next year with liquid starch and holes.}

Our egg trees and an unlikely enemy

2011-04-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

My plastic eggs were hijacked while I was attempting to be crafty and decorative.

The guilty parties were awfully cute so I decided to wait my turn.

BBD: {truly stymied} Where are your eggs?

Note: the overflowing basket in his possession.

The imaginative play that took place with the stolen and empty eggs was intriguing.

The children are convinced that the Eater Bunny himself is after their ill gotten gains. I guess a life of crime can make you paranoid.

BBD: We gotta hide from the Easter Bunny quick! We gotta hide our eggs!

CB: We’re gonna hibernate our Easter eggs!

It can also lead to misusing large words. {case precedent: inconceivable! You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means--if you do not get this reference I am disappointed in you}

After the children went to bed, my crafting got to continue and the next day they helped {actual help in CB's case, "help" in BBD's}.

I was pleased that Booger Butt Destructo's involvement, aka swinging eggs around like a mad man, only resulted in a single casualty.

And... Wah-lah!

CB: I think the Easter Bunny is pretty much real.

We had attempted to lure the Easter Bunny out into the open with baby carrots. It wasn't until later a family friend educated us on why our exploit failed.

To catch the Easter Bunny, you need

Jellybean bait.

ps
Making the eggs is so easy...

to make the eggs:
*cut varying lengths of different ribbon
* seal the edges
* tie a knot in one end and hot glue it to the top of a plastic egg
* the other end of the ribbon is to be tied around a branch

Homemade Puffy Paint

2011-04-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

We tried out homemade puffy paint. At home and at school.

It was a hit.

My children made pictures to give their great grandfather for his birthday.

The schoolers thought walking down to the microwave to cook their paintings was weird but great. They were thrilled to show off their creations.

The recipe:
as found on Sandy Toes and Popsicles

ingredients:

1 Tablespoon self-rising floor

1 Tablespoon salt

Food coloring

Enough water to make a paste

directions:

then you mix them all together and whala! you have your paint. use paint brushes or cotton swabs to paint on cardboard. it works best brush paint on thickly. when you are finished microwave your painting for 5-10 seconds, do not microwave for to long. (i may or may not have started a fire) and that's it. homemade puffy paint.

Some notes from our experiences:
* Ours tended to get a little crispy if we did the full 10 seconds. We averaged about 8. Less if the paint was applied thinner.
* Mixed a batch in a bowl and then spooned it into an ice cube tray and the children chose the colors to make. This worked well.
* A few brave souls requested to sample the paste. All agreed it was yucky.

A little bit of chalk

2011-04-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

goes a looooong way!

Glue

2011-03-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

It all started when I left a bottle of glue on the living room table...

While my husband loves me despite such behavior,

my children love me because of it.

They took it as a sign that something should be glued. by them. right now.

Sure, this might look like any ole puddle of glue with a button stuck in it...but it is not.

"Mom. Look. It's my favorite!"

CB gave her creation a "hair cut" by trimming the feathers. It was later revealed in a dramatic telling that "He is an evil puppy. He knows how to fly." He is also capable of untying his leash, causing mischief (such as peeing on the carpet!), coming back and tying himself back up.

In the cards

2011-03-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

The girl has entered into the world of card games.

She quickly moved from Go Fish to Old Maid and then Crazy Eights. She makes her mama proud.

Looking for ways to make card games extra special?

Add a little love
CB: Do you have any "love you's"?
M: Yes! {blew her some kisses}
CB: Sweet! I'm putting down my "love you's" pile!

Add a little silliness
CB: Do you have any...{dramatic pause}...tickles?

Add a little brother
This turns things into more of a contact sport. And gives the sibling the edge of being able to concentrate while her opponent is unsuccessfully trying to fend off a card swiping Booger Butt Destructo.

Add some crackers
You read that right. Go Fish makes brother hungry.

Add a pillow
The girl has a difficult time holding all of the cards and being able to view them easily. So we propped a large pillow from the couch between us so she could have a private area to spread out her cards.

Add a little trash talking
Okay, so this one back fired...

The girl "challenged" {her word, not mine} her Daddy to a game of Crazy Eights.

I reminded her of the man's tendency to trash talk and she planned on just staying calm.

Turns out, he kept his comments to himself.

The girl, not so much...

"Oh, really?! You're still not going to win!"
"Oh, yeah! What do you got? Huh, what. do. you. got?"
"Let's see if you can beat that!"
"Take that, Daddy!"

um, he won

Anyway, what is truly important, is that you enjoy yourself.

even when your Daddy wins. {We are still working on that last little part...}

Forget

2011-03-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

"Did you forget what you were doing, Mom?" my husband asks me at the sight of a nearly unloaded dishwasher.

Yes, in fact, I did.

As I was minding my own business, I was forcibly called to action by a thwack to my rear.

My yelp of surprise was followed by mischievous giggling.

It was on.

I took off after my feisty assailant.

I was handed a weapon by his very own father.

Many rounds were exchanged.

The sister tried to save the family from destroying themselves by creating a scarecrow super villain.

M: Ah!! Where are all the bullets?!
BBD: I got some!

Word to the wise, if BBD tells you to "reach for the skies", don't do it. Take cover and arm yourself at the first opportunity.

Furthermore, I totally recommend that you

Rainbows

2011-03-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

We made rainbow finger print art.

The children let me borrow their sweet little fingers for mine:

CB's:

"Those dot things, those are kisses. The unicorn friends are sharing apples."

BBD's:

"Mama, it's ART! We are gonna hang it up!"

The girl and I also used her birthday flowers to make rainbow-ish prints.

Mix it up

2011-03-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

I came across a lovely spring tree craft idea here.

Things did not go as planned with paint blowing for the trunk {I got a big fat blob} so CB suggested that I "just use a paintbrush for the tree part". So we did.

Genius is in simplicity sometimes.

BUT there was still a need to blow some paint around...so we did that separately.

See how much fun it is?

Watching how the colors marbleize together is intriguing.

CB decided to combine the two projects to make this masterpiece:

There was also mixing of the play dough colors.

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Cupcake Flowers

2011-02-27T11:24:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Valerie of one of my all time favorite sites, we made our own Build a Flower Activity Set.

The son was disappointed when I told him the baking cups I had out were to make flowers.
BBD: I thought you were going to make cupcakes.
M: How about muffins?
BBD:Of course!...and juice.

I didn't have cute baking cups so we fancified ours with good ole crayons. And trimmed them with the fancy scissors-which I also used to cut out the leaves.

Putting the flowers together is strangely calming, especially adding lots of beads. They are fun to build, and rebuild.

CB has a song for it "build it again, take it apart, build it again, take it apart, add a new leaf, put on a bead-see?, build it again-change it, build it again-change it, build it again-change it".

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Birthday Interview

2011-02-26T18:03:00.001-08:00

Favorite color:

Blue

Favorite food:

Pepperoni pizza

“Are you talking about my favorite sugar treat”:

Cupcakes

Favorite song:

I have 2 favorite songs. Is that okay?

My Cuddle Song and Twinkle, Twinkle

Favorite thing about yourself:

That Boo Dah is happy. {She had him cracking up.} That I am nice and kind.

What do you like to do:

I like playing with my friends, a lot.

What do you want to do this year:

I want to have a party.

What do you want to do when you grow up:

I want to visit your house lots and lots and lots and lots.

Thoughts:

People don’t know that I am a ballerina.

Birthday Book Countdown

2011-02-26T17:14:00.000-08:00

Our book countdown for Christmas was such a hit, that I decided to do one for the daughter's birthday as well.

This time, I just wrapped each book in a single sheet of construction paper and tied a simple string around. She enjoyed counting the books in the pile to see how many days were left. A little bit poked out on most of them and she would try to guess what the book would be about.

The books were piled in strategic order. We started with the Skippyjon Jones series, which both children absolutely fell in love with.

She danced around and jumped for joy when she opened "If You Give a Pig a Party" on the eve before her shindig.

And the main feature opened the morning of her birthday:

{It is this little ballerina's birthday in the story too.}

She was so excited to write her name in the front cover. She even included a heart.

She took it to school and Miss Amy read it to the whole class.

"You saved the best for last, Mom!"

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Birthday Traditions

2011-02-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

Here are a few things that I have adopted to be Birthday Traditions. I wish I would have started them from the get go, but I can do them from now on.

BIRTHDAY BOOK COUNTDOWN

Click here for a full run down.

WATCH THEM GROW WALL DISPLAY

PICK YOUR CAKE

Dinner too.

BIRTHDAY BANNER

May seem silly, but it means a lot to the kids-as integral to the decorations as balloons. When I asked what we should get Pop for his birthday, the daughter said, "a birthday banner".

FLOWER DELIVERY
Daddy gets the girl a bouquet every year. {I am thinking the son would like a delivery of candy.}

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW
Series of questions to be asked each year on the big day.

See an example here.

I would LOVE to hear about your traditions too.

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Say NO to litter boxes

2011-02-25T08:13:00.000-08:00

Using the toilet is a pretty big deal in our house right now.

Prompted by this:

I was explaining to the son what a litter box is.

I want to poop in THAT!

So glad we don't have a litter box. Just so glad.

And hoping he doesn't discover an imaginative replacement.

Artsy

2011-02-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

Our resident artist is turning 5.

"I just love being artsy."

The girl had big plans for her party.

There were crafts galore.

Fabulous gifts.

The. doll. she. just. had. to. have.

She deviated from her original plan and decided on cupcakes. With various colors of icing-so people could pick, this was very important to her. And sprinkles to be added-also important.

And general ruckus.

"It was great." But she asked me several times, "Do you think everyone had a good time?"

She could not pick a favorite part. If her guests had a fraction of the fun she did, I would say it was a success.

Her brother apparently had a wonderful time, in the morning he was bubbling over with excitement and big plans of his own. "I'm going to take these [pajamas] off to make room for clothes! They're gonna be here any minute! And we will have the party back in! We are going to do it all again!" He also felt it was important to point out, "There are still cupcakes left."

Love Bugs

2011-02-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

BBD found some craft foam paint pens so we brought out the foam and other crafting goodies.

The paint did not work so well-guess that is why it was on sale.

The girl and I made some love bugs.

I am not sure what the boy made, at one point in time it was a yellow snowman.

The girl made me some hearts too, so I could "make something".

So I did.

She also made a little girl who is raising her hand cause she knows the answer.

Mushtache Valentine

2011-02-12T19:23:00.001-08:00

Want to make your own funky felt mustaches? Click here.

Love Notes

2011-02-11T19:41:00.001-08:00

The boy received these super cool alphabet stamp markers for his birthday.

The kids liked them.

I loved them.

I was still at the table long after the little ones had moved on to other things. Daddy observed this fact with amusement, "I see you have outlasted the kids. Those things are that much fun?"

Yes. Yes they are.

I made these lovetastic love notes:

Aren't they just swell?

Bright Spots

2011-02-11T15:55:00.001-08:00

I recently got these awards from the sweet Christina over at The Tattered Tag.

Here's how the awards works:
Thank and link back to the person(s) who bestowed the awards
Share 7 random things about yourself
Nominate 15 other awesome bloggers
Contact those bloggers and inform them about the award

Some random things about little ole me:

1. I enjoy cheesiness. The punnier the better.
2. I like a hot drink to start my morning-chai, hot cocoa, tea {preferably Refresh}
3. I dig googly eyes and glitter. Paint ain't too shabby either.
4. I dream of having my own private preschool.
5. I have a craft hoarding problem.
6. I ate a bag of Cheetos today and refused to let my husband read the nutrition info to me. I thoroughly enjoyed them.
7. I am a ninja master robot extraordinaire.

Some awesome bloggers you should totally swing by:
1. Jenny from Bugger-Dixonline
2. LeAnne from Everyday Celebrations
3. Brandy at Gluesticks
4. Tammy at Type A
5. Tamara at Etcetorize
6. Megan at Polish the Stars
7. Sky at The Buffat Family
8. Julie at Singing Three Little Birds
9.Sue at Creative Tryals
10. Brenda at Deck the Halls of Home with Joy
11. Melissa at Honey Scrap
12. Shauna at His Frugal Servant
13. Michelle at Land of the Misfit Toys
14. The mother at My Kids Make
15. Jenny at Embellishing Life

Toothpaste

2011-02-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

For homework, the girl was supposed to make toothpaste out of baking soda, water, and some sort of extract for flavoring.

Amounts are not given, you experiment.

For the record, I do not recommend vanilla {all we had handy}.

We had fun. I am not sure which part was the most fun-the making of the tooth paste or the making of the display board.

{pictures were taken at night when we finished so forgive me}

My favorite detail:

"I drew a sucker.
How do you spell 'no'
cause you can't have those everyday."

what tulips are for

2011-02-05T18:57:00.000-08:00

My husband bought me some flowers to say I am thinking of you.

They were lovely and smelled divine and made me smile and feel pretty special.

On the ride home, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

I told him I was wondering what kind of print the tulips would make.

"Like with paint?"

"Yep."

I can't help it. This is how my brain is wired. I teach preschool.

So today, we found out.

Turns out:

Beautiful.

The boy thought I was crazy, I am pretty sure I am a genius. Look at him, turning up his nose at my greatness.

"I like the paintbrush."
Nothing wrong with the classics.

We also made heart prints using a cut and folded tp tube.

The girl had the great idea to fill in the hearts and add centers to the flower prints.

"I am a genius. All my plans are turning out well."

I do not know where she gets her sense of humility.

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Love Birds

2011-02-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

I love these hanging on my wall, but cannot get a decent picture. {le sigh}

made with the Silhouette, card stock, ribbon, glitter mod podge

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Gobs of Glitter

2011-02-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

The girl is tap dancing to "Lollipop" in her next recital. {Which is one of the cutest things I have ever seen.} Prop lollipops are involved. The girl is in love with them. She got a pencil for doing a nice job during class. On the way to the car she was pretending it was a lollipop. I pointed out that we had the needed materials at home to make our own lollipops.

While we waited for the glue on the handles to dry we attempted to make adorable hearts like these:

found here on Family Chic {I love this blog}.

We didn't have rustic floral wire, so I used funky pipe cleaners and things didn't work out.

The girl started out enthusiastically, gave it "3 chances" and then moved on.

We moved onto glitter glue. The boy was instantly more interested in what was going on at the table.

You know what this glitter glue needs? GLITTER!

You know what this glitter needs? GLITTER GLUE!

The girl took this project very seriously.

"Look at what I made! Look at how stylish I'm doing it! It is all fancied up!"

She was a little scandalized. "{gasp} You touched me with your sparkly hands!" There were frequent exclamations of "Oh my gosh!"

""Oh my goodness! That is a lot of wasted glitter!"

I wouldn't say wasted.

Much of it was salvageable. And, as these things go. there was very little on the floor.

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Lovin' Life Bookmarks

2011-02-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

I have a crafting compulsion/supply hoarding problem. I have a hard time walking by the paint chips and not grabbing a few. My daughter is pretty sure this is part of the routine of shopping.

Sometimes, I succeed in just walking by, especially if I have no real project ideas floating around in my mind. But the other day I grabbed some to just mess around with. I tried a few things. I did not love any of them.

Some people may have stopped there, but not I. No, I got more paint more paint chips to add to the pile of paint chip creations I wasn't really happy with.

I messed around some more and made some bookmarks. Didn't love them either. They just kind of hung out for a while. Staring at me. Taking up table space. But I hate throwing stuff away. So I let them mock me for a bit.

Then I tried a different project. It failed too. But I salvaged some pieces and added them to the bookmark project.

I don't know if I love them, but they are growing on me.

What the girl created:

Moral of the story {the husband would not approve so shhh}
Leave your craft problems out on the table until you finally get an idea that makes it better.

Just in case you are interested:

These bookmarks are made from paint chips and book pages.

I don't know if it was just operator error, but stamping was tricky-seemed slippery, but the husband says this makes them look "rustic" so we will go with that.

Book pages were cut with the Silhouette machine-which ate my book pages up to a degree- and a mini shape punch. I also used a paper slicer, square punch, and corner rounder for the paint chips.

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Valentine Sh-mantel

2011-01-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

Not much, just a little something to spread a little love and cheer.

Since my lovely daughter vetoed my first banner idea, I made another, all by myself.

The son likes it.

And some simple vases.

{made from these neat bottles}

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

XOXO characters

2011-01-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

My children are delighted by the idea that letters can stand for hugs and kisses. Just delighted. It's silly but with the feel of budding academia-what's not to delight in? It was like being let in on one of the secrets those mysterious things, letters, hold.

And so I give you, our XOXO characters.

They are full of personality. And l-u-v.

We used glue dots, which the girl child was so in to it moved her to song

"Give us what we want---

We want GLUE DOTS!"

BBD was actually more interested in decorating a scrap. What are you to do?
He is quite proud of his "line AND squiggle".

So I turned it into a bookmark. He thought this was genius.

{p.s}

I am so pl-ea-s-ed with this idea,
so please don't rain on my parade and tell me someone else thought of it first...

ta-da! Rhinestone beauty covering up boring old pin head!

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

They {HEART} each other!

2011-01-21T17:01:00.000-08:00

Forgive me, I couldn't pick just 1.

Photography Fun Friday

Button Love

2011-01-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

Stage 1: Contemplate

Stage 2: Place to perfection

Stage 3: Drive train through buttons

{while mother hot glues because she doesn't have the patience for sewing-shame, but true}

Stage 4: Disagree with mother on how artwork should be displayed, only to change your mind.

I wanted them to be all together as a bunting, the daughter wanted to hang just hers in her room. I consented, but wanted a picture of them all together first. Right after I took the picture, "Oh, they look nice. They can just stay right there."

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Preparing for Artsy Fartsy

2011-01-21T10:23:00.000-08:00

The girl's 5th birthday is approaching.

She has requested an "art party".

At which we will be making calendars and necklaces. {Her project ideas not mine.}

There should be rings in the goody bags.

Tiaras will be decorated. The girl's will be blue, the boy's likely pink.

The cake should be strawberry with blue icing "swirled with purple" and a "dollop of [whipped] cream on top in the middle". Furthermore "people can choose if they want cream on their own piece because people should get to choose if they like cream."

And the invites, my, they are beAUtiFUL.

A play kitchen pot full of hearts, stars, flowers, and ballerinas were needed.
{thank goodness for my Silhouette crafting dream machine}
{{We have plenty left over for Valentines, too!}}

Dancing around because party prepping is exciting!

Please check out some of these fabulous linky parties. Wonderful ideas and inspiration await! Thank you!

Red Wreath

2011-01-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

I whipped up this sweet little wreath.

I like it just the way it is.

My darling daughter informed that it is nice , "but needs more details".

She is honest like that.

She can be trusted to give you an honest opinion, but she is kind enough to cushion it when needed.

"Mama, those sunglasses are a little bit ugly.

But you are very pretty."

So, hmm, more details to come?

Ice Cube Painting

2011-01-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

{Liquid water colors frozen in an ice cube tray and tongs}

A fun melting activity to go along with this darling poem:

Pet Snowball

I made myself a snowball
as perfect as can be
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me

So I made him some pajamas
and a pillow for his head
Then last night he ran away--
But first he wet the bed!

-author unknown

Shirts for the menfolk

2011-01-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

I made some heat transfer shirts for my boys. They were thrilled to model them for me!

This one's blurry,

this one shows the caboose on his caboose quite well,

and in this one he unsuccessfully hides behind his library book, so I win!

{Cause what he needs is more info on hiding spots, especially from those fellows, right?!}

The birthday boy rocking the bio-hazard shirt:

p.s.
stay on his good side :)

2 Refined Young Ladies

2011-01-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

sooo refined

Lovely Silhouettes

2011-01-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

Pictures the silhouettes were made from:

CB: I just wanted to make him something special and he just loves it!

BBD: Yeah! I do LOVE it!

5 year Anniversary

Time in a Jar

2011-01-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

I love this better-than-a-buried-time-capsule idea!

Here is ours, just waiting for some memorabilia!

Shhh!

2011-01-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

He's hiding...

That was his sister's pop-tart.

{she was warned not to leave it unattended}

preceding whispered conversation
BBD: Can I have this?
M: Yes.
BBD: I'm gonna go hide.
M: Okay.

psst...come play with us at this great linky party

Christmas Craftiness

2011-01-04T10:42:00.001-08:00

ribbon wrapped bracelets

Take a Little Time Jar.
Everyday the recipient takes out a stone with an
inspirational word to remind them to slow down
a little bit and do something treasured.
Free printable and tutorial at http://issasarza.com/paper-projects/take-time-to/

wall plaques-hand painted with vinyl

I made a bunch of shirts but didn't photograph all of them.

rhinestones

A Christmas Carol

2011-01-01T08:18:00.000-08:00

and a collage too.

{collage made from old Christmas cards and gift tags}

Cute as a Button

2011-01-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

A: Sooo, Mom. What are you doing after nap?
M: I don't know. What do you have in mind?
A: I have in mind something crafty and a big mess.

So we made matching rainbow button bracelets.

That's right we are bracelet buddies.

The boy is a nice blend of Mama and Daddy.

"Just messing around."

The bracelets were not enough to satisfy our crafting compulsions so we made ornaments too.

I made a blue one for an ornament exchange and the wreath just because I wanted to.

Winter Sucks

2010-12-31T18:04:00.001-08:00

We are dreaming of spring...

{Glittery flower stickers brought to you by Aubrey's Christmas $. The girl has good taste.}

Blizzard of Fun

2010-12-31T17:57:00.001-08:00

We made snowflakes out of coffee filters.

Ah, so pretty.

CB decided we should make a banner with them. She picked out a special one for each family member. Concluded that they needed faces and waa-laa...

A happy snowflake family.

With the leftover scraps, we made

blizzard scenes

by shaking our groove things.

{how to}
* put scraps (and optional glitter) in a plastic bag

* put glue all over your paper (works best if your paper is at least a little smaller than a regular sheet)

* place paper in bag loosely but securely tie shut

* shake like crazy

* take paper out and let it dry

* add details and/or embellishments to your winter scene if desired

Best Countdowns Ever

2010-12-29T09:41:00.001-08:00

We had a great time getting a new book every night and delighted in getting to "poke a lego".

We ended up with our literary horizons broadened like only books about monster bugs, ballet, and underpants can lead to.

Our Lego collection has expended to include utter coolness like this guy:

and utter confusion like this guy:

But weird-Santa-impersonator-in-a-thong-with-a-scrub-brush aside, it is all good. We got all kinds of neat stuff like a piano, drum set, Christmas tree, snowman, helicopter, airplane, firetruck, dog and cat {just how I like them, not piddling anywhere in my domain}, and a train cause the not so creepy Santa impersonator rolls in style.

FULL

2010-12-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

Full of food. Full of laughter.

We went to THE buffet.

At one point BBD asked the quintessential question of buffet dining...

"Mom, will that fit in my mouth?"

And no, it did not.

Upon us leaving our server caught sight of BBD, who was well beyond the aid of a wet napkin , "Awesome! Did you enjoy it?"

Yes. Yes we did.

CB said that her favorite part of the buffet was the nap. I didn't know what she was talking about.

But I soon figured it out.

That deep, contented sleep that comes from a nice full belly.

Let the countdowns begin!

2010-12-01T18:57:00.001-08:00

You already knew that we are counting down to Christmas with Legos,

But what have we here?

A big bag of 24 brand new books!

Why?

Because 1 countdown just isn't enough this year.

Because we need more books around here. bwahahahaha

Because reading is cool- see even Daddy agrees.

"Wait, let me see that one."
It was a book about motorcycles just in case you were curious.

1st book:

How appropriate is that?! Zen.

We killed it!

2010-11-26T08:51:00.000-08:00

I do not enjoy being woken up. I have gotten better since my two lovely morning rompers have come into the picture. But still, I treasure sleep.

This guy of mine
mentioned how great it would be if only I could go Black Friday shopping with him. He said it so wistfully.

So wistfully that I found myself offering to go with him. "We could probably ask my parents to watch the kids" was out of my mouth before I fully realized what I had just consented myself to.

Getting out of my cozy bed. To go into the nasty cold. To go shopping with sale crazed people. At midnight.

And I wouldn't get to tuck these babes into bed {one of my all time favorite things}.

But...

it was actually pretty cool.

Dare I say, fun?

In fact, we killed it.

I was armed with hot cocoa, an enthusiastic shopping partner, and a list.

Jason insisted on using the flash- we discussed how you were supposed to blind the competition, not your partner.

Our objectives were split. I was in charge of apparel, Jason had the toys and kitchen items. But we knew what the other person was in charge of just in case we came across it. Which turned out to be a good thing because I found a few games and Jason snagged himself 2 Punisher shirts.

I got a good position right in front. I could see like half my to-get-items from where I stood. I did not enjoy the sudden sight of all the people who turned up about 10 minutes before the countdown right behind me. One minute not so many people, the next minute I glance behind me and there has been a full invasion- kind of freaky.

Jason got a great position right in front of our dear friend Thomas the Train and his new track set going for $15. He, of course, got to this place by walking through areas that I am pretty sure you were not supposed to be unless you were a store employee, but hey, no one stopped him.

This guy is an unbelievably great shopping buddy. He has an eye for things and is responsible for me owning some of my favorite articles of clothing because he is the one who spots them in the store.

I passed the waiting time listening to people's plans of attack. It was entertaining. Jason saw one woman making umpire like signs to her husband. She was pretty intense. For the man's sake, I hope he got 4 of whatever it was she wanted him to grab because she was rather adamant about that number.

We were resigned to the fact that we may not get the things we were looking for. You never know how these things are going to go and I am a novice Black Friday go-er.

We got ev-er-y-th-ing that we wanted.
And just a little bit more.

I only had to get crazy once, which involved tucking the cart out of the way, going under three sales racks, and shimmying past a lady. But, I got the coat Jason wanted in the color he requested. It was the last thing on my list.

Previously unmentioned highlights include a waffle maker, pop-up tents, plush wraps, and {a childhood favorite game of Jason's} Don't Break the Ice.

It is going to be even better when the children are grown up and can accompany us. BBD is always up for shopping and his enthusiasm would help banish the initial sleepiness and possible crankiness. And CB she is a very helpful shopping buddy. She would be a definite asset.

Team work is definitely the way to go for tackling Black Friday.

Better Butter

2010-11-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

Did you know that you can make butter just by shaking heavy whipping cream?

It's true.

It is A WHOLE LOT OF SHAKING. But it's true.

And it is tasty too. I like way better than store bought. I don't know where it is on the healthy spectrum, but I don't really care.

You can add salt for flavor if you desire, but all you really need is the cream and a container with a tight seal. And A WHOLE LOT OF SHAKING. {The tight seal is important people, learned that the inconvenient way.}

After thinking it could not possibly be working and this is a sick joke because your arms are really getting tired, the joyous thunking sound will be heard and you will be the proud of owner of some really great butter. {more detailed how-to found here}

The crazy outfit is completely optional, but I highly recommend it.

Best. Cookies. Ever.

2010-11-24T12:09:00.000-08:00

Of course, that is technically opinion, but it may actually be bordering on fact.

The recipe is so simple. Which is good because I have been known to skip steps when following a recipe as recently as yesterday.

No raw egg is involved so dough can (and should) be sampled.

They are a bit ugly, but that is actually a good thing because perhaps it will deter others in your house from sampling them thereby leaving more for you. That may be the addict in me talking.

They are moist and cake like. We call them cookies, BBD corrects, "No, they are muffins". Whatever you call them, they are TASTY.

And fun to make.

Is it December 1st yet?!

2010-11-21T17:15:00.001-08:00

Cause lookee at what we got...

We need a count down 'til we get to use our count down.

Calling All Space Rangers

2010-11-20T10:19:00.000-08:00

This little guy is 3.

His party rocked this galaxy.

Entire star systems were created.

Wonderful presents were received.

Daddy was as meddlesome as Zurg.

A rocket ship crash landed bearing goodie bags.

The cupcakes were adorable and delicious.

Everyone put on their best space attire.

Paint Chip Turkeys

2010-11-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make some turkeys out of paint chips like I saw here because simple + cute = love it.

The small children got involved.

So things took a different route.

The paint chips were difficult for the kids to slice through on their own, so CB decided to switch to scissors.

She cut a bunch of strips while BBD moved back to his trains, "You're making turkeys?! I'm making train tracks!"

She also cut out rectangles for the waddles and triangles for the beaks.

She was very deliberate in picking out the feather combos for each turkey. {She is into patterns so those are featured on a couple.}

A lot of thought went into who gets which turkey. My favorite color is purple so I got all purple feathers. When she went to choose a turkey for her brother, she realized we didn't have any pink feathers {GASP} so that was remedied. We added a pink feather to this particular turkey because it is "pretty funky and he should really like that".

She then penned the names so that these can be our place cards for the Thanksgiving table.

The girl went on to create her own process art as well.

"This picture is going to be the best picture I ever made!"

Indisputable proof that crafting is cool:

{linking up with all the cool people found on my linky page}

and

Felt Monster Game

2010-10-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

Want to see some kooky monster fun?

Here is a felt monster game I made for the classroom. It has oodles of learning objectives: color identification, body part identification, counting, cognitive matching, making choices, fine motor manipulation, and participating in organized play. But it is also just plain ole fun.

The object of the game is to complete your monster first.

Players roll a die to see what they can add to their monster.

The sides of the die are:
* eyes*arms* horns* noses* mouths* a flashlight (child uses a real flashlight to scare off a piece of another player's monster)
I ended up adding a free turn where you could pick any piece to add because the game was going on forever...I made my die using a free printable from online.

Here are the pre-designed monsters:

The game can be altered to allow for varying degrees of difficulty.

You set out the pieces in varying ways:

already grouped in color setsgrouped by type found on the diemixed up all crazyChildren can also be encouraged to create their own kind of monster (either using the die or completely open ended)

{linking up with all the cool people found on my linky page}

Little Scarecrow

2010-10-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

The traditional building of a scarecrow meets fine children's literature when you use The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything (written by Linda Williams and Illustrated by Megan Lloyd) as a guide to your crafting experience with young children.

Read the story a few times with your children before you create the scarecrow to build their familiarity with it.

Gather the needed materials:

* The wonderful book
* Bunch of shredded paper
* Pair of shoes
* Pair of socks
* Sweater/ long sleeved shirt
* Pair of pants
* Pair of gloves
{we used children's clothing cause it is more manageable and looks pretty darn cute when you are done, but that is certainly not necessary}
* A plastic pumpkin treat bucket {facial features will need to be drawn on--upside down--with a permanent marker}
* A hat
* Some sort of stick {for helping to stabilize the head to the body}
* Tape to hold openings shut
* Safety pins to attach clothes together
* An enthusiastic child ready to join in the fun

And now you are ready to embark on a slightly spooky journey through the story while making your very own scarecrow.

Be wary of the paper flinging monster that is rumored to live near here.

{some rumors turn out to be true}

The story is cumulative and encourages children to move their bodies.

The little old lady is chased home and "behind her she could hear":

"Two shoes go CLOMP, CLOMP,
One pair of pants go WIGGLE WIGGLE,
One shirt go SHAKE, SHAKE,
Two gloves go CLAP, CLAP,
One hat go NOD, NOD,
And one scary pumpkin head go BOO, BOO!"

As you read and new articles of clothing make their spooky appearances, have the children help you stuff the clothes with the shredded paper.

Attach the clothes together and at the end of the story your scarecrow will be scaring away pesky crows just like the one at the end of the story!

Completely optional, but highly enjoyable, additional steps:

Steal the scarecrow's hat

{this serves the dual purposes of bugging your sister and rockin' a new look}

Accessorize your scarecrow as you see fit "just for fun":

Pose with your new buddy:

{linking up with all the cool people found on my linky page}

Fall Flower Pots

2010-10-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

We painted flower pots.

Mine were originally going to be for a gift exchange, but I ended up not going so I could pack for our brilliant fall trip. So, Happy Fall to me.

{Turns out I love them so I would have had a hard time parting with them, anyway.}

The kids painted some pots and decided they would be a great birthday gift for their Mammie.

Filling them with flowers turned out to be just as fun as painting them. Both of the kids were very thoughtful about which flowers were included in their arrangements.

"Oh!!! That's beautiful!"

"Don't you think that's beautiful?!
It is going to make Mammie's heart beat so full!"

BBD had a thorough screening process. Each plant was closely inspected

and had to be approved by James before it made the cut.

"It's full! It's so full up!"

CB decided that the flower pot needed an "alien face". Who am I to disagree?

It is complete with two green eyes that are "twins" and a blue one for good measure, rosy "cheeks", and a bejeweled crown head band that goes all the way around.

{linking up with all the cool people found on my linky page}

School Scrapbook

2010-10-22T21:10:00.001-07:00

Today, I earned major cool mom points.

Why?

Because I gave my daughter a binder filled with page protector sheets. I slid in one of her many preschool works of art.

She gasped. "It's a preschool scrapbook!!"

Yes. That is exactly what it is.

"Can we keep this scrapbook forever and never ever throw it away?!"

"Mom, it's not full yet."

"I can't wait to make more stuff with Miss Amy!"

She loves it so much that we are going to need another one for all the artwork she creates at home.

Here is a picture of her scrapbook at the end of the school year, just bursting with memories:

This is similar to what I do with my students as a school memory book as well. We include photos, artwork, dictations, songs, and poems from throughout the year and send them home the last week of school.

Halloween Rock Creations

2010-10-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

We have been at it again. Making more rock creations, this time Halloween themed.

Safety first, people.

While I made this cast of characters :

{For a color changing ghost story by yours truly, click HeRe}

CB made this bat. He's kooky.

And BBD is largely responsible for this creepy eye ball. (I added the pupil.}

Happy Haunting!

{linking up with all the cool people found on my linky page}

Color Changing Ghost Story

2010-10-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows that ghosts are white because they only eat things that are tasty and white, like coconut, whip cream, cream cheese icing, and vanilla ice cream. {If you didn't already know that, now you do.}

Gilbert was a little ghost who was in a hurry to be a big ghost. One Halloween, after weeks of begging, his mom said that he could be the one to pass out candy to trick or treaters while she and Dad went to a haunted house for a Halloween party. Gilbert was so excited! It was his first night home alone. He felt so big!

As his mom was leaving, she reminded him, "The candy is for the trick or treaters. No snacking! Crazy things happen when little ghosts eat things that are not white."

"Mo-o-om! I am not a little ghost anymore! I am a big ghost!"

At first, things went just fine. The door bell would ring, Gilbert would answer the door, the costumed kids would shout "trick or treat", he would give them candy, and the kids would scamper off giggling over their bags of treats.

But then, Gilbert saw himself in the mirror. His white was so plain. His white was so boring. He wished he had a cool costume like the kids. He wished he had a bag full of yummy treats.

He looked into the bowl of candy he had been passing out. Hmmm. It was huge.

Surely, one little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a RED cinnamon bear and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of RED.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a ORANGE lollipop and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of ORANGE.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a YELLOW Starburst and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of YELLOW.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a GREEN jaw breaker and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of GREEN.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a BLUE taffy and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of BLUE.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a PURPLE box of Nerds and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of PURPLE.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a PINK piece of bubblegum and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of PINK.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a BROWN piece of chocolate and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of BROWN.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a BLACK piece of licorice and took a little bite. It was delicious! He popped the whole thing in his mouth. Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of BLACK.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

Surely, one more little piece of candy would not be missed.

He picked out a GRAY jellybean and popped the whole thing in his mouth. It was disgusting! Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful shade of GRAY.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

And then he spotted a piece of candy corn in his bowl. He grinned and popped the whole thing in his mouth. It was delicious! Pop! Gilbert turned a beautiful striped pattern.

He admired his new look in the mirror. He looked awesome!

But, he didn't feel so well. The door bell rang. Gilbert groaned. His tummy hurt. He couldn't get to the door to answer it. The door bell rang again. Gilbert groaned again.

The door opened. "Gilbert?" It was his mom. She was home from the party. "Oh, Gilbert!"

"I don't feel very well."

"I can see that, sweetie. I have just the thing to help you feel better." She went to the kitchen and returned with a nice tall glass of milk.

Gilbert drank the milk and began to feel better.

A little while latter, on his way to bed he passed by the mirror.

He saw his old look.

He looked AWESOME!

Curtain call:

Written by: Timbra Vaughn

I did the artwork too. I know, I ROCK!

Have your child act out the story with props to work on color identification and naming. You can make your own out of all kinds of things (construction paper, felt, milk jug lids, whatever) or you can print out the photos and use those.

Candy Land will never be the same

2010-10-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

We. dig. Legos.

Look what we stumbled across:

W-h-A-t?!

They are like trading cards but are

LITTLE LEGO CHARACTERS!!!!

I cannot tell you how excited I was to get to the car and open these things up. It simply cannot be described accurately.

I have a vision of my Christmas stocking overflowing with these. hint hint

BBD was not super interested in the dramatic unveiling because he had picked out a Toby the Train Lego set, but he liked his vampire when I handed it back him. He is pretty sure that the vampire is part of the Toby set and is meant to ride around on Toby.

CB was thrilled that she landed the Pharaoh, but she doesn't like that name, "that is why I call it a ninja".

I got a sweet little wicked witch.

Daddy got a lady life guard.

He used to Life Guard so that is cool. But what is really cool is that she totally completed our gang of super villains. She brings some mean super spy skills to the group. She's a double agent. That's right, she has betrayed her country and that is pretty bad.

Intimidating.
I know.

Daddy had the GREAT idea that these should be our game pieces for board games. I love that man.

So when we got home, we invaded. Poor little sweethearts, they never saw the destruction coming. Who could? Lord Licorice has got nothing on us. Fool. You call yourself a villain?!

Breaching their defenses was so easy. A cake walk actually.

Things were quiet at first.

But that was short lived. Soon, everybody was Kung Foo Fiiiighting.

And the castle was taken at a price.

Daddy won the first organized game we played. CB and her father are very competitive and often trash talk each other. It's heart warming.

D: How does it feel to have your Daddy beat you at Candy Land?!
CB: Not so good. I like winning better.

Ghost Hand Print Garland

2010-10-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

I have seen cute hand print ghost crafts while trolling the crafty blogs.

I have also seen tons of cute wreaths so I thought I could get CB to help me craft a hand print wreath.

The girl is always up for crafting. However, she definitely has her own ideas to contribute. And so I give you our (but mostly CB's) Ghost Hand Print Garland:

I tried this first with me tracing her hands but they were just so much cuter when she decided she wanted to trace too. So I went with hers.

I cut them out while she traced hand print after hand print and gave each ghost a well thought out face.

I especially like the pig nose one and the guy with the glasses.

These 2 are holding hands. Aww!

I made the "Boo!" with glue and glitter. BBD made an appearance for that part. He can sense glitter. Note to self: there is no such thing as "just using a little glitter real quick" with a 3 and a 4 year old on the premises. duh.

We used double sided stickers to attach them together {this proved not to be enough, I have since added a lot of scotch tape}. CB loved this part and it was easier for her than regular tape.

It is proudly displayed hanging across our banister.

Linking up to all kinds of fabulous parties...please check out all my glorious buttons on the side bar.

Water Bottle Vase

2010-09-19T14:07:00.001-07:00

My daughter's ballet teacher gives each girl a rose after each recital.

She wanted the rose to have its own vase. She picked an empty water bottle.

After we put it in, I jazzed it up just a bit.

I cut off the label and used it to get the approximate size for a strip of construction paper.

I wrote Beautiful Dancer with chalk.

Taped the new label on in place of the old.

She got a kick out of it.

Mine was pretty basic, but you could glitz it out more with scrapbooking paper, embellishments, glitter, and the like.

Her next recital is the Nutcracker and my plan it to let the girl design her own beforehand.

Name Banners

2010-09-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Man, I am a SuCkER for crafts...

On our way out from a oh-so-productive stop at work, (Both kids and a work related to do list, who was I kidding?! The work got done, but clean up sure took forever.) CB lays eyes on the vast assortment of die cuts in the prep room as I hurriedly try to accomplish one last task.

Awe sets in, her eyes are large and full of wonder.

"I would just love to cut my *C*."

I take a deep, fighting-the-frazzled breath...I really just want to go home...I know where this headed...Crafty Towne...

"Oh! We could make a name banner!"

{Like I could deny that excitement, especially when it is targeted at such a great learning activity.}

So we cut out all the letters of both children's names along with a few embellishments.

We took them home and hit up our crafty stash.

Little did I know that this project would last them over an hour. I am not exaggerating. They were both all over it. It involved paper cutouts, crayons, glue, glitter glue, rhinestones, and a little bit of no-mess watercolor.

And a whole lot of wonder at the simple grandeur of making something pretty.