Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Summer Activity: A Visit to the Fire Station



It has been a tradition in our family to visit the fire station at Christmas and make special treats for the firefighters. This year our mom's group had it on the calendar to make a summer visit and the kids were so excited to visit the fire station again. I don't know why I had not thought to do this in the summer before!

I get a lot of promotional stuff from different companies and I had saved this tin (with a company logo on it) and recovered it with a bit of wallpaper from the thrift store and a little glue. Ethan worked hard on a thank you card for the firefighters and I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookie bars. We packaged it in tissue and we were off for our visit to the fire station.

Don't you love those orange fire engines? I was sucked into taking pictures of the fire station and completely was not paying attention to my kids. There were just so many cool things to see there that I had a hard time capturing all of it.



Thank you to the firefighters at Harris Township Fire Station #2 for sharing all about your job and how things work at the fire station. My children could not have enjoyed the day more and we are so thankful we have such great people protecting us!

I encourage you to read Michelle's post, at Leaving Excess, on how important our firefighters are and what you can do to show your thankfulness to them!

What are some ways you thank those that serve or care for your family? I would love to get some new ideas for teaching our children thankfulness!

Labels: , , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Notebook Experiments: Will Zoo Maps Keep My Child Busy?

This notebook experiment is a lovely little repeat and I plan to do this again with my son this summer. It is a handy little rainy day activity to keep in your back pocket!

Experiment: Can a few printed out zoo maps keep my child busy for an afternoon?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 06.19.08

Materials Needed: Please see Let's Explore for specific directions on how to complete this experiment. I printed out the zoo maps that Let's Explore had suggested along with maps from our own local zoos for my son to look at. I wished we had a color printer to print these out, but Ethan still was able to visualize where all the animals were in the zoo.

Results: I planned this activity the day after we went to the zoo so all of the exhibits were fresh in his mind. At first he copied the maps and used those as a template for his own map. I then asked him to make a map of his very own imaginary zoo and he filled this with the traditional zoo animals. I challenged him a little and asked where the dinosaur exhibit was and he looked at me like I had two heads, "Um, mom...dinosaurs are extincted." This is when I stressed that it was an imaginary zoo and he could fill it with whatever he wanted. That is when he really let loose on his map and created some interesting exhibits like a squid exhibit, a special T-Rex exhibit, and some animals that I can't even pronounce.

Just like our grocery store experiment, we also wrote the zoo words out and I had him practice on his writing. I am trying to encourage this as much as I can so he will have a great start to his first year at elementary school.

Once we completed this, I told Ethan that he could build a zoo out of the Little People sets that we had. He was very quiet for an hour while I worked and then told me that I could come downstairs. "Ticket please, ma'am." Every toy in the world was out and lined up for an exhibit. I applaud the effort, and silently cringed as I saw every toy bin dumped to build the masterpiece.

Conclusion: This was a wonderful activity to foster creativity, build our writing skills, and also kept my son relatively quiet for an afternoon. I did have some clean-up on my hands, but building a zoo can sometimes create a bit of a mess. Many thanks to Let's Explore for inspiring me as a parent!

********************

I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Notebook Experiments: Can We Make a Fun Summer List?


Experiment: Can we make a fun summer list?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 06.05.08

Materials Needed: Please see whatever for instructions on making a summer list. We bought a sheet of poster board and used a Sharpie to make ours. Our kids decorated the list by coloring on it.

Results:
We absolutely loved making our summer list last year and it gave us all something to look forward to. Last year we checked off all but one box on the list, which I think was pretty darn good. The kids were excited to make a new list again and I was excited to see what new ideas we could come up with.

We try to keep the ideas as inexpensive as possible and take advantage of any and all free opportunities in the summer. There are so many great free things to do- free museum days, free summer book programs, and free camps/park activities.

If you don't know what is free to do in your community, start checking the museum websites, looking to your library for guidance, and checking your local parks department for free things to do.

Here is what we have up our sleeve for this summer...

Summer List ('09):

1. Go to the movies
2. Go to the water park
3. Go to the Field Museum
4. Ice cream sundae night
5. Go to Soccer Camp (a free camp sponsored by a local church)
6. Attend VBS
7. Have an Earth Hour night
8. Run through the sprinklers
9. Make homemade slushies
10. Go to the beach
11. Sleep over with our cousins
12. Go to the library (sign up for the summer book program)
13. Go to the zoo
14. Go to the Air Zoo museum
15. Sleepover at Grandma & Grandpa's house
16. Campfire night with marshmallows
17. Make milkshakes
18. Plant our garden
19. Have a picnic
20. Go to the park
21. Homemade pizza & movie night
22. Go to Chuck E. Cheese

Conclusion: We can't wait to tackle our list again and our list hangs in our kitchen so we can check it off as we enjoy doing items on our list. I hope you can make a fun list with your kids this year. It helps add to the anticipation of all the summer has to offer!

********************

I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

New Family Tradition: Campfire Night

I decided to start a new family tradition in celebration of our son's last day of school... a campfire family night. What better way could you end your school year than a fun night of being together over toasted foods!

We have had this fire pit for years, but have not attempted any cooking on it until now. Sitting by this little fire pit is one of my favorite things about the summer though and it gets a lot of use in the evenings at our house!

I had been holding onto a gift card for Target from one of their prescription gift card deals. This gave us the money to put towards our supplies for our fun night together.

We did not have any roasting forks, but found them in the camping supplies at Walmart along with a log that would burn for three hours. If you have these things though, no investment is needed other than food!



This family night, of course, requires a lot of supervision. The kids had a wonderful time though roasting their hot dogs over the fire. Some of our hot dogs were toastier than others, but the kids thought it still tasted great.



No meal on the campfire would be complete though without the s'mores. They couldn't wait to get through the first portion of the meal so that we could snack on these. Perfectly toasted marshmallows sandwiched between graham crackers & chocolate, made for the best gooey snack ever.

It was such a fantastic night for all of us and a fun night off of cooking for me. We have decided to make this a yearly tradition because it was such a wonderful way to start our summer together.

Do you have any end-of-school traditions with your children? I would love hear what you do to celebrate this kick-off to summer!

Labels: , , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Play it Again, Momma: Sponge Ball Fun

It is that time of year again and I will be making another batch of these little sponge balls for the kids. If you don't have a clothesline, these are fun to just squish in a bucket of water or play with in your child's water activity table.

My once-a-year Martha Moment is here! These sponge balls are courtesy of Martha Stewart Kids Magazine (and a double inspiration from Betz White who was featured in one of my notebook entries).

I hit the Dollar Tree and got two packages of sponges to make our creations. I followed the instructions and cut two sponges into fours and then stacked the two sponges on top of one another with alternating colors. If you buy two packages, you will have enough alternating colors to make six sponges with different colors in each. Then, simply tie the sponges off with a long piece of floss and knot it a few times to keep it in place.


Here is my plastic ice bucket filled with these sponges. The colors are so beautiful that I wanted to spend an afternoon photographing this pail of sponges. Do we stop there and let the kids play with them like this though? NO!

You could say that I am even more inventive than Martha this time! Now take an old drop cloth or sheet and use painter's tape, a permanent marker, or paint to make your bull's-eye. Squares are much easier with the painter's tape so we have a nice square bull's-eye for the kids.

Now hang your game up on the clothesline (or wherever else you can find). We weighed the bottom of the sheet down with clothespins. This sheet is also folded in half to give it a little more weight. Of course, when the wind starts blowing, give the kids extra points if they can still hit it.

Not challenging enough? Have one of your kids stand in front and block it.

For some reason, that was one roadblock too many for this toddler.

You can also grab two at a time or a whole handful of them. Make it more challenging by backing the kids up further from the mark. Our point system was 10, 20, and 30 points depending on the size of the square they hit. (PS- I promise I feed my children, they just have extremely high metabolism)

An afternoon of water fun cost us $2 in sponges, but this is a game that I hope we can play many more times together.

What is one of your favorite frugal summer activities?

Labels: , , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Friday, March 27, 2009

Family Night Activity: Earth Hour

Earth Hour 2009 is upon us and I wanted to encourage you all to enjoy a family night celebrating Earth Hour. Earth Hour is March 28th from 8:30 PM-9:30 PM this Saturday.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote.

Our family celebrated Earth Hour last year and my son still talks about it. It was definitely one of our favorite family nights ever and a great way to share about caring for the earth.




I had been looking forward to Earth Hour all week and sharing this experience with my family. We talked to Ethan about why we were celebrating Earth Hour and how much fun we were going to have. Since Earth Hour was between 8-9 PM last year, it was a special treat for the kids to stay up late and spend the hour with us.


The kids took a bath by candlelight, which they thought was a super fun treat! We filled the tub with lots of bubbles and threw in a couple of whisks and spoons from the kitchen. They whisked up bubbles to their hearts delight and sang fun songs by candlelight.

Ethan thought he looked pretty cool in front of the candles so he took some time out of his busy schedule to pose!

After our baths, we enjoyed a yummy snack while Ryan & I made shadow puppets on the wall for the kids. They thought these were hilarious and super cool!


Ethan had so much fun, he asked if we could celebrate Earth Hour every day! This gave me an opportunity to share with him easy ways he could celebrate AND save the earth. We talked about doing our recycling, turning the lights off when we aren't in a room, and not being wasteful. Since this family night was such a hit, I hope we can do it with the kids again. Not only did the kids have a blast, but it was super frugal, while being extremely memorable for all of us!


Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Play It Again, Momma: Rainy Day Survival Kit

Spring is almost here in Indiana and with it comes those rainy days! I will be working on restocking our little suitcase for those days ahead and I hope this offers a fun idea for keeping your children entertained when the bad weather strikes!

I have been wanting to work on this project for some time, and since it was miserable weather all weekend, it seemed like the perfect time to tackle this project. I went to Goodwill and found a plain leather suitcase for $5. I gave it a good scrubbing, when I got it home, and proceeded to decorate it with some knick knacks from my craft supplies. I tied a big bow on the handle and made it look super cool for the kids. If you have older, children, you could invite them to help you! I applied the buttons and ribbon with my trusty hot glue gun.

Hmm... I wonder what could be inside? Let's take a peek, shall we?

It might not look like much to you and me, but to my kids...well, this is a good couple of hours of enjoyment. Inside here I have coloring books, crayons, a deck of cards, pipe cleaners (yes, I told you it wouldn't look like much to us), a 100 piece puzzle, little spinning princess tops, yo-yos, dinosaurs, a little jewelry set with a crown, board games, quiet instruments, and books. Some of the items were "new" and purchased from the thrift store, some were items that I had been rotating and storing because no one was playing with them, and some of them were purchased from the dollar store. I would say even with the cost of the suitcase, there is probably about $15 of stuff invested here, but it is OH SO WORTH IT!

You could pick activities based upon how involved you really want to be with this. If you are looking for a little sanity break, I would suggest putting things in there that they could enjoy playing with by themselves or with their siblings. If you are looking for a good time to bond with your kids, put things in there that you can do with them like board games or stuff for art projects. If you are super smart, you will have a case of each- momma needs a break suitcase and momma wants to be your awesome friend suitcase.

This is such a hit in our house! Ethan keeps asking if it is wet on the ground because he wants to play with this special stuff. Pretty sad when your kids are begging for rainy days, but it makes me feel like this was a great idea and a great way to keep them occupied! Being a Midwest girl, I am sure I will have plenty of days to really use this. If I lived in Seattle, I might have to have a few hundred of these so they wouldn't get tired of the same old stuff.

Might I just add that this would be a great birthday gift for a child and would be a wonderful addition to a grandparent's house too! I am thinking this would be something fun that I could put together for my nephews or would be a great way to store a little girl's dress-up clothes. The possibilities really are endless.

Related Links:

Spring Break '08 Cost Breakdown

A Drizzly Saturday

Fruity Play Dough

Summertime Planning

Is anyone else looking forward to the spring weather? Do you have any big Spring Break plans this year? Please share!

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Monday, March 23, 2009

Boxed Wines: An Eco & Wallet Friendly Choice


I feel hesitant posting my personal thoughts on wine. After all, I am the girl who thought that Arbor Mist was the best you could buy for your money for years. Through the years though, my husband and I have become adventurous with trying new wines, I have been to countless wine tastings, and I love nothing better than a good glass of wine at the end of a long day with the kids.

While we both love wine, we don't necessarily desire the same kind of wine. I am a girl that gravitates more towards a good Chardonnay while my husband is a Merlot fan. Considering we are the only two wine drinkers in the house, the wine would sometimes go to waste because it was not used in the time span it should have. To me, there is nothing worse than throwing money down the drain so I have been looking into other options.

A few months ago though, I was watching the Today Show and they had a wine expert on to discuss the comeback of the boxed wine. "Boxed wine? Blech!" I thought. The expert continued on though to point out that these wines have come a long way and are a great affordable option for families.

We decided to put this theory to the test and began buying and sampling boxed wines instead. I even had the good fortune to receive a few boxes for my review from a couple of great wine companies, which helped add perspective on the different varieties that are available for families.

Why are boxed wines a better value and better for the environment?

Your Wine Lasts Longer- Remember the scenario that I shared about where I was dumping wine down the drain? Well, that doesn't usually happen when you buy boxed wine. The wine is stored in a Mylar bag with a spout attached. When you pour from the spout the bag acts as a vacuum, which means the wine doesn't oxidize. An opened box can last for four weeks rather than spoiling in just a day or two.

Boxed Wine is Better for the Environment- Top wine producers are trying to reduce their carbon footprint — that is, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the transportation of wine —and selling the beverage in alternative, lighter packaging instead of heavier glass is one way that they can make that change.These boxes of wine are ideal with some boxes reducing waste by nearly 90 percent of the equivalent bottle.

It Saves Space & Is a Hit at Parties- I took a box of wine to my Bunco night and it was the first thing to go on the table of wines. While some might consider it tacky, that pour spout is quite handy and makes filling your wine glass a breeze. These boxes can hold four bottles or more, but take up a lot less room. If you are short on space or you need something to bring to your next party, I highly recommend the boxed wine alternative.

Wine for Cooking Is Right at Your Fingertips- Many of the dishes I make call for wine in them and these boxes of wine are a cook's best friend. I no longer have to open a bottle for a dish and let it go to waste, I can now just pour it right out of the box and it costs a lot less than the wine I was buying to cook with.

Boxed Wine is Much More Affordable- You can get a box of wine for a far lower cost than you could get in a bottle. Check the side of the box to see how many bottles are contained within it and then divide that to get your cost per bottle. Some of the best boxed wines I sampled cost roughly $5-6 a bottle, making it much more affordable than even the sale prices on bottled wines.

Now that I have hopefully convinced you that it is a better deal, here are my top picks for best boxed wines on the market. I am happy to report that Epicurious also agrees with a couple of my choices!


Of all of the wines that I sampled, the Black Box wines were consistently the best of the best. The Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot are the best that they offer and they are elegantly packaged. The Cabernet Sauvignon has received a Double Gold award and the Merlot was listed in the Top Ten Best Buys by Wine Enthusiast. Best of all, this one was available at our local Walmart and I have also heard that Sam's Club members can get it for an even lower price. If I was just venturing into the world of boxed wines, the Black Box wines would be a great place to start.


Banrock Station Chardonnay is one of the best bangs for the buck and they now offer their wine in a 3L (the equivalent of four bottles) box. This Chardonnay is an excellent deal for the money and is recommended as a great budget-friendly wine by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Of all of the wines that Banrock Station offers, their Chardonnay is by far the best and is a great wine to bring to parties and a night in with friends. Even someone who is not a wine expert will recognize the hint of green apple and the crisp taste that comes through in the Chardonnay. This wine is particularly great for Pinot fans because this wine seems to mimic many of the flavors you would find in a good Pinot.

When they would run a sale on this wine, we would buy it in the six bottle quantity to get a discount at our local grocery store. I never knew that they offered this wine in a box and I will now be looking for this eco-friendly alternative to my bottles. It really is that good!

Hardys Stamp offers a variety of great tasting budget-friendly boxed wines. While we were not a fan at all of their boxed Riesling, I can say that I truly loved the Merlot. Hardys Stamp Shiraz is also well-known for offering a rich and full flavor. Epicurious shares that the Shiraz, "evokes warm blueberry pie, with hints of vanilla ice cream and toasty American oak, and just enough tannin to balance the ripe berries." Overall, I would definitely recommend sampling the red wines that are offered by Hardys Stamp because the flavor was such a great surprise and will now be added to my top list of the best of the best in the boxed wine market.


One wine that I really wanted to pass the test was the Target Wine Cubes. We tried several different wines from Target and I just was left feeling disappointed. I loved the chic packaging and I certainly spend enough time in Target to want to pick it up there, but these wines were definitely not my favorite. If you are going to pick up a box of wine at Target, go for the Pinot Grigio because it is the best that they offer. In 2007, the Wine Cube Pinot Grigio won a double gold medal at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Again, I love the packaging on the product, but the wines just weren't my favorite.

If you are a wine drinker, I would definitely recommend giving boxed wines a try! Once I started sampling boxed wines, we have never gone back to the wines in the bottle. I can't wait to continue our adventures in tasting and I look forward to more boxed wine products from future companies. I believe that more boxed wines are going to be offered as wineries begin to recognize that even the best wine drinkers love a good wine bargain!

(Photo credit: Paul Olson)

Have you ever given boxed wines a try? Please feel free to offer your recommendations for a great box of wine!

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Notebook Experiments: Are Homemade Bubbles Better?

I wasn't able to get to any experimenting this week so I wanted to share one of my favorite experiments with you that I have completed so far. If you haven't tried this recipe, I swear it is worth those little moments of effort!

Experiment:
Can homemade bubbles trump our dollar store variety?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 05.29.08

Materials Needed: Please see Sparkle Power for specific directions on how to complete this experiment. I was able to find the glycerin behind the pharmacist counter at Super Target. The container of glycerin was $2.69 for four ounces. I also mixed my bubble solution up in an old milk jug (inspired by Frugal Dad's uses for milk jugs) which made it easier to pour and store our homemade bubble solution. The bubble wands were found at the Dollar Spot at Target.

Results: Is it just me or are the dollar store bubbles horrible? My son is able to blow bubbles with these, but my daughter really got frustrated because she couldn't seem to blow any bubbles before her wand would need to be dipped again.

I was really excited to try this recipe for bubbles and couldn't wait to mix up a batch of these for the kids.

I followed Candace's suggestions and actually mixed these up the night before so the ingredients had plenty of time to incorporate. I had some pink dish soap in my pantry so I used that- your bubbles will be whatever color of dish soap you choose.

The next night, we spent an entire evening blowing bubbles and everyone had to take a turn waving the wands through the air to make the giant bubbles. These bubbles were so amazing that our neighbors came over to ask where we had gotten the bubbles from. I couldn't wait to share the recipe with them and pass it on! After seeing our bubble pictures, my mother-in-law is even going to make some of these for her own house so the kids can blow these bubbles over there too.

Conclusion: Homemade bubbles rocked the socks off of the dollar store bubbles. Thanks to Sparkle Power for such a fun recipe. I will never buy those bubbles again and I hope it is a recipe that we can pass down through generations!


**********************


I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original craftster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!


Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Day 19: '70's Bunco Style

I seriously cannot imagine missing a month of Bunco, but knew that I would have to sit out this month with the No Spend Challenge.

My girlfriends would not hear of it though and said that they would let me keep my money if I came to play with everyone. My concern was that everyone would feel like I was the charity case, but no one wanted me to sit out. They had all sorts of reasons to justify the spending ("Isn't Bunco as important as paying the mortgage and phone bills?"). With everyone's sweet insistence, I decided to throw in my $5 to play and hoped that I would win it back so no one would have to pony up my money for the games.

The disco ball for our Bunco night was something that had been gathering dust in my basement for the past five years. I brought it to a White Elephant Gift Swap for my mom's group and soon realized that my White Elephant in my house was one of the more sought after prizes. My friend Jessica won it and put it to work for a '70's Bunco night.

The delicious fondue pot and dippers.



The hot '70's attire. Mine came courtesy of my closet, others found their great finds at Goodwill!

The utter relief that I won my money back fair and square so no one had to pay for my Bunco money. Phew!

My amazing Bunco Babes who wouldn't think of letting me not join them for a fun night out!

Thanks to my Bunco Babes, I was still able to enjoy a fun No Spend night out with the girls!

Related Links:

Kentucky Derby Bunco

Retro Housewife Bunco

Wedding Bunco

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Free & Fun Resources for Book Lovers

The coffee tray was assembled with all the necessary items for a good cup of coffee.

I gathered a stack of books from my bookshelves that I was not planning to read right now and books that I had read and truly loved.

Our fearless book club leader, Jessica, suggested a book swap for the month. I offered to host our book gathering and couldn't wait to see what everyone brought. We piled the books on the table, we shared what we thought about our respective stacks, and we sipped some coffee. Everyone left with a bag full of new books and not a dime was spent. It was like going to the library, but no one will fine me if I don't get it read in three weeks time. As a busy mom, this is exactly the type of book activity that I was game for.

If you don't have some friends to swap books with, here are a few book resources that I have gathered for the book lovers of the world:

GoodReads or Shelfari- I use GoodReads to keep track of all of the things that I am reading or plan to read. I am not good about remembering the books I have read or that I would like to read in the future. This site helps me keep track of my impressions of books and keep my bookshelves fully stocked with the books I am really interested in reading. I love to keep a pad of paper with me in my purse or make notes into my cell phone when I am at the bookstore so if I happen upon a book I am interested in, I can jot down a note so I can pick it up at my local library.

BookCrossing- This site offers a fun way for you to clear out your bookshelves. The idea is simple, but so fun. Just put a tag within your book to track it and release your book into the wild, which just means leave it somewhere where someone else can find it (coffee shops, doctor's offices, schools, etc.). When someone finds a book with a BookCrossing ID number in it, they can enter that code into the site and report where the book has moved to. It is a fun way to track where your books have traveled and see how far they can go.

Library Elf- This program helps you keep track of your library materials so you won't get socked with late fees. Elf is an Internet-based tool for keeping track of what's due, overdue and ready for pickup. Reminders are sent when the user wants it -- before items are due (up to seven days advance notice, weekly notice or everyday reminders). For my local friends, South Bend is not currently participating, but the Elkhart Library is. The basic membership to Library Elf is free.

Frugal Reader, Paperback Swap, & Bookmooch- Just three of many sites where you can exchange books for free. You simply sign up for a membership and list the books on your bookshelf. You can then browse the books from other members and make a request to receive a book. When you are done with the book, you can list it back on the site or keep the book. New members start out usually with credits to get started on exchanging books. The more you ship and share, the more credits you recive to get more books.

Bookins- This is another great site where you can not only swap books, but also movies. Their system will automatically arrange for shipments from you to one member and from a third member back to you, and so on. You never have to contact anyone, there is no bidding, and there are no hassles of dealing with different traders and personalities for each exchange. The shipping charges are always a flat $4.49 for the service. You can keep what you get or exchange it again when you are done.

SwapSimple- This is a site where you can list textbooks, books, games or DVDs. Begin by listing what you have to be available to others. Right when you list an item, they will figure out what it's current market value is, and award you 20% of it's value up front for your use. You get the remaining 80% when you send your item to another swapper. This means you can list items, and get items immediately!

Amazon's Free Kindle Downloads- For those that have moved towards the electronic books, Amazon has books available to download for free through February 28th. Be sure to snag these books and save!

Of course, the ultimate in free resources for book lovers is your local library. Be sure to check the Resources page on your library's website and see what tools you might be overlooking. My library card comes with free passes to local museums, online memberships to many research tools, even iPods and audio book downloads right to my iPod!

Do you use any of these resources for your reading? Feel free to share your own resources that you have discovered that could help your fellow book lover out!

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Holiday Fun '08


We took the children Friday night to see all of the holiday lights. It was so great this year because Emily enjoyed it as much as Ethan. We ooh-ed and ahh-ed as we drove through the neighborhood and came home to enjoy a little cocoa after coming in from the cold winter air.

As a side note: the look of glee on Ethan's face as we drive by Hobby Lobby could only be replicated by my own look of glee. That store is EVIL! I could spend a ton of money in there!



Saturday morning, we headed to downtown South Bend to enjoy a visit with Santa. This Santa is way better than the mall Santa because they let you see him and take your own Santa pictures for free. Each child is given an "I Believe" sticker that they can show to the South Bend Chocolate Cafe to get a free chocolate candy bar.

Ethan was excited to see Santa, but Emily...not so much. We didn't repeat past years and just let her see him from far away. As we inched closer she would say, "Santa's scary." Ethan got in his visit though and a request for a fancy sled this year.


We then headed over to the College Football Hall of Fame to see some really beautiful gingerbread houses and get a chance to sample some yummy food. They had tables set up for the kids to color and to decorate and eat some Christmas cookies. All of these activities- FREE! You have to love that!


Our evening was spent at Ryan's holiday party. I had him take a picture of what I wore so you could see just how thrifty I can be. The blazer was already in my closet, an inexpensive purchase bought this fall for $14.99 at Forever 21. The pants are a black jean trouser pant made by theory found at Goodwill for $5.00. The camisole top was found deeply clearanced at rue 21 for $5. The long strand of pearls were bought at Target for $7.99. And the shoes? Longtime readers might remember them from my ode to red post. Those were purchased at Payless and are perfect for all holiday occasions!

The dinner was free and the babysitter worth every penny.

The wild and crazy dancing done by Ryan's wife for all his coworkers to see...priceless!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Play it Again, Momma: Fun Family Game Nights

Our family loves to play board games and after we had children, we began to play them a lot more. We are usually home more in the evening, so we pop some popcorn and catch up on our television shows while we play.

I try to get our board games at our local thrift store because it is a great way for me to try them out without making a huge investment. Sometimes I buy games and we discover that it isn't something we would want to play over and over again. When they cost us only $1.50, it makes it much easier to donate it back and try something else out.

You might be able to do this without even making a small investment by checking with your local library. Our library actually has games and toys that you can rent for your children. We were able to try some games out for our son and found that he either didn't like them or they were way too advanced by just checking them out for a week. We were able to return them and then try them at a later date with him, when they were more age-appropriate.

Starting your own game collection does not have to be expensive. If you don't have somewhere that you can buy them secondhand, ask for these as a family Christmas gift or ask for them for your children as birthday gifts. Some of the best childhood games are Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Memory, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Life, and Clue.

Games are a great way to bond with your family and are a inexpensive "date night" with your spouse. We try and devote (at least) one night a week towards playing a game together and enjoy playing these games on the weekend.


These are a few of our favorite games:



1. Rummikub: This is a game that my husband loved to play when he was growing up, and now he has me addicted to it too! The game is intended for ages eight and up and can be played with two or more players. With rules similar to gin rummy, Rummikub is a classic tile game that's guaranteed to get at least a million kid-hours of use in any family. Players take 14 numbered tiles and try to get rid of them as fast as possible by creating runs (for example, 7-8-9) and sets (7-7-7). The link provided is for their deluxe edition (which we do not have). This deluxe edition is cleverly designed so that the four plastic tile racks fit together to form a carrying case for the game.

2. Scrabble- What is not to love about this game? Intended for two players or more and recommended for ages eight to ninety-nine, you can play this game for years with your children. The game has been improved with a swivel board (less stretching required!), raised holders to rest the tiles into, and a bag to store all of the tiles. This is one of my personal favorites and we play this a lot in our house. Don't forget to purchase a copy of the Scrabble Dictionary and store it with your game board. Take some time to study some words and really beat your opponents! Want to see what Scrabble obsession looks like? Rent the movie, "Word Wars." It is all about the Scrabble championships that are held and people who attempt to make a living from this sport.

3. Upwords- Along the same vein, this is another fabulous word puzzle game, but with a twist. You build words just like Scrabble, but you can build up and up (five letters high) to change words into new words. The more you stack, the more points you earn. I think it is more challenging than Scrabble, but the scoring is much easier to do. This game is for two players or more and recommended for ages eight and up. This game can be a powerful tool when your children are beginning to read because it can help teach them how to change words using different letters. Consider it a cheap version of "Hooked on Phonics" and a game that they can enjoy for years after they have learned to read!

4. Skipbo- This was my favorite game growing up and my sister & I would play this for hours and hours. Created by the makers of UNO, this card game is a delight for anyone of all ages. The game is a sequencing game of skill and strategy intended for two players or more and ages seven and up. Players create sequential stacks with cards on the board, the first player to use all the cards in their stack wins. The deluxe edition has a board with placeholders for all of the stacks of cards and score sheets to keep tabs of the winners. I love this game because it is easy to still have conversations while playing, making it a great game to socialize with other couples.

5. Yahtzee- A classic game of dice that has been around since 1956 and is still played in millions of homes today. You can play alone (which I don't think would be as much fun) or with more players. The ultimate in this game is to actually get Yahtzee or five of a kind. This game is so much fun and also a great teaching tool for children. Children can learn basic addition and subtraction, as well as sequential ordering.



6. Monopoly- I had never played this game until high school, and I can honestly say that my husband is always the winner, which is why we don't play it as much! This game is a great teaching tool in money-management and in buying real estate. We have a couple of different versions of this game, but my favorite is the Dot Com Monopoly, which we purchased when Dot Coms were ruling the world. Few of the companies on the board exist anymore, which makes for interesting conversation and fond memories before the dot com bomb hit for computer nerds and geeks alike!


We have many more games in our collection and the last time I hit the thrift store, I picked up another stack of new ones. Our collection keeps growing and we hope to have a game collection that our kids will enjoy someday with their friends. In a day of technological bliss, game nights now seem "retro." Why play on a board when you can just grab your game system or play a computer game online? I hope that board games will last the test of time because they can be an essential part of family bonding and creating a family night to remember!

What are your favorite games? Any games that I should be adding to our collection?

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

A Family Day at the Pumpkin Patch






Our family decided to take a trip over to the pumpkin patch this weekend together. We decided to visit Amazing Acres in Edwardsburg, Michigan because we had heard so many great things about it. As soon as we pulled up and I saw the truly amazing varieties of pumpkins and gourds they had to offer, I just knew we made the right choice.

I loved that they had tons of wagons available so you could load your purchases right up into your car. The cobwebs gathering on a few of them just spoke of Halloween to me!

Can you see my favorite pumpkins peeking their heads out at me? I just loved all of these little pumpkins sitting in rows. I couldn't resist getting inside to takes some shots of them sitting in on the ledge. Pumpkins have to be one of the greatest subjects for photography, don't you think?

The first thing we had to do was take a hayride with the kids. For our family of four, the cost was $16 for a hayride and to visit the petting zoo.

They clang this old bell each hour to let you know that the ride is getting ready to start. We hurried over to make it for the very first ride of the day!



We were excited because our ride was the first one leaving so we got to stop and give the horses breakfast. The gentleman who gave us the ride turned and told us a little bit about each horse. "This horse is two years old and she likes to bite." To which Ethan loudly replied, "Just like our Emily." Everyone turned to our family and the guy asked who Emily was. "My sister," he said with a little grin. I guess we have a little pony in our family.

The hayride pulled right up to the pumpkin patch where the kids could choose a pumpkin for one dollar. We were told if anyone picked a cell phone out of the patch, they would receive the biggest pumpkin in the whole place. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find the poor guy's phone, but as frugal as I am, you can bet that I sure tried!

Some had an easier time finding their perfect pumpkin.

Others had to think and contemplate much longer before settling on the pumpkin of their dreams.

After our hayride, the kids loved spending time in the troughs filled with corn. Emily left with about four corn cobs in her diaper after they practiced making snow angels and jumping and swimming in the kernels.

We also couldn't resist seeing all the beautiful animals and the creative places they lived.

This little storefront was just for the bunnies!

All in all, we had an amazing day at the pumpkin patch, that I don't think our family will soon forget!

** If you want to see the whole set of pictures, you can see our Pumpkin Patch photos over at Flickr! Enjoy! **


Do you do have any special Fall family traditions? What is your favorite thing to do in the Fall as a family?

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Notebook Experiments: Can I Craft Some Bath Toys?


Experiment: Can I Craft Some Bath Toys?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 06.26.08

Materials Needed: Please see plumpudding for the full instructions on this task. I hit our local dollar store and picked up a ten pack of craft foam to use for this project. The craft foam is thin enough that you can cut these with plain old scissors or you could break out your zig-zag scissors from your scrapbooking materials.


Results:
I am not very good at free-hand drawing so I went ahead and looked for a template where I could stencil some really cute shapes out of my foam. I found this handy template from the Martha Stewart website and whipped up several fishes, flowers, and hearts for the kids. These were very easy to trace and took only a few minutes to whip up. My husband also put together some that he drew for the kids.

The kids absolutely loved these and didn't want to get out of the bathtub. I also saved a few sheets of foam for the kids to do finger-painting on. I am planning to use these foam sheets with some of our homemade pudding paints (with only enough water to make a finger-paint consistency instead of a water paint consistency) and then I will just rinse the sheets off when they are done so that they can make brand new creations!

I would recommend making sure to soak the foam before you begin sticking it on walls. The pink color did bleed onto the walls and left a pink shade that is going to take some serious scrubbing to get out. None of the other colors caused this problem, but giving them a good soaking first should prevent this problem.


Conclusion: One package of foam can keep my children entertained for many baths and I can't wait to whip up some more of these for them to play with. I am thinking that these would make excellent stocking stuffers this year and you can't beat the price! Thanks plumpudding for your creative idea!
********************

I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Labels: , , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

An Olympics Family Night

We could not let the Olympics pass by without a fun family night surrounding it! Ethan is really into the Olympics this year (thanks to our Wii & the Mario Olympic Games) so I really wanted to do something fun & memorable for the kids.

For our dinner we made the infamous Chicken Lo Mein. We eat this about every other week, but it is a huge hit with the kids every single time and makes fabulous leftovers for lunch. I made a big batch of white rice (cooked as directed but I subbed the water with chicken broth) and bought a package of egg rolls (on special at Aldi for $1.99). I also asked the kids if they would like to try some tea and they both were excited about that so I made some of that too. It was a great excuse to use my little teapot that my grandfather bought for me and these Asian-inspired tea cups that I found at Goodwill.


The kids thought that these cups were really cool because they didn't have any handles on them. They had never tried egg rolls or tea before and I am happy to report that they both loved them. Emily called it chocolate and had the best time stirring it with her little spoon. My husband also had never tried egg rolls and loved them too! The dinner was a real hit!

Dad was in charge of the remote and we watched the Olympic games while we ate our dinner. There are times when having a television in the kitchen really pays off. Ethan kept saying, "Go, America! Go, America!" He also made predictions on how Michael Phelps was going to do ("Michael Phelps won't win because China is going to win, mom!")
While we cleaned up from dinner, Ethan worked on a picture of what the Olympics looked like to him. This is the 100 meter race. I love his fans cheering in the top corner of this page. We made this into a card for our new teacher.

After our fancy dinner and coloring, we worked on learning about origami. I found this cool origami website and we printed out several easy origami activities to do. Ethan colored them and then Dad showed him how to fold them into interesting things.

Ethan was so excited about learning origami that he wanted to know what else he could learn about from China. "I want to do something else from China," he said. My husband had him doing all sorts of Asian things- drinking water, taking a bath, putting on pajamas. You can't say we don't have a sense of humor in this house!

Do your children enjoy the Olympics? Do you have a fun way that you are teaching your children about the culture or a cool way of celebrating this event in your family?

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

At the Car Wash: Part II

This summer, the kids really loved getting to wash their own cars, but my neglected car was in need of a car wash too. Isn't that why we have kids though? Might as well put these able-bodied children to work, that's what I say!

Emily worked on the car with an old baby washcloth and Ethan used daddy's official car scrubber.

I loved their looks of total concentration. They took their task very seriously and Emily kept wanting to show us how yucky the water was. I am the same way though when I scrub our floors. I just have to have other people witness the gross factor- you just can't experience that alone.

I don't know if I should mention this every single time, but I do feed this kid. These shorts are 3T and falling off of him still. I see pictures like these and feel like I should make a disclaimer- this kid eats me under the table. Oh, to have that metabolism!


Where in the world is their supervisor though? Oh, I think I found him sitting on the step watching the kids work. I don't think we should ever claim to be parenting experts!

He had to break out the big guns though and show the kids how to clean the roof of the car. They thought this part was hilarious.

What's a car wash though without a little water play afterwards? Ethan thought this part was definitely the best. Best of all, I have a clean car AND two exhausted workers to prove that this was a family event worth repeating!

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Thursday, July 24, 2008

A Day at the AirZoo Museum

Instead of my usual Notebook Experiment, yesterday we decided to head over to the AirZoo Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I haven't been to this museum since they participated in the National Museum Day campaign (this will link to the current year & you can mark your calendars for September 27th) with the Smithsonian Museum because they had never participated again. It is a great zoo, but EXPENSIVE! They will be participating in the free day this year though so be sure to head over there then to save some cash! It is worth the drive- i promise! Since we vetoed a family vacation in favor of staycations and occasional day trips out of town, we were able to budget it in for a day trip before Ethan starts school.

We decided to head there with another family because it helps us both to split the cost on gas. We ordered our tickets online, which gave us a savings of fifteen percent if bought three days in advance, and we packed a lunch to eat on the lawn outside the museum. We saved where we could so we could really enjoy this day!

This museum is truly amazing though and boasts the world's largest indoor mural, which encompasses the entire open space that they have built. It is difficult space to really take pictures in, to truly showcase how cool it looks, because it is very dark in the space. Hopefully, I was able to capture it enough though that you can see just how neat it is.

First, this was pretty much Emily the entire trip. See her fingers in her ears? If we said, "Say CHEESE, Emily!" she would rip this bloodcurdling scream unlike any other child I have ever heard. Yeah, good times! Basically, she is two and she wants us to deal with it! Her TWO is what Ethan's THREE was- difficult. I love her like mad though!

This is what the museum looks like. Those hot air balloons are actually rides and they have little planes that the kids can ride on too. These rides are great for younger visitors and the museum was practically empty the day we went so the kids just ran and climbed back on the rides about four times, while we sat on the bench sharing a snack with the younger children. For older kids, they have flight simulators that you can try out and a 4-D theater where you feel like you are watching flight scenes from WWII. The kids did not like the movie theater, but they loved the rides.

This is Emily on the balloon ride. I felt like my stomach was doing a zillion flip flops and she was ecstatic the whole entire time. She cried when the rides ended because they were so much fun!

If you know of a good setting to use on your camera in the dark with a moving amusement park ride, please let me know! These were the best shots of the bunch!

Behind the mural, is an area for smaller kids to play with lots of toys and the best part of all.... tons of rides for tots. The rides were the kind that average about $5 each at the mall. All you had to do was press the start button twice and you could ride them for free.


Here is our silly shot! We had a great time at the AirZoo and our son has been pretending he is a pilot ever since!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Dad's Day Out & Mom's Day In



We have been trying to accomplish all of the great things off of our summertime list this summer and we had a major event to accomplish... a trip to Chicago's Field Museum. Last week, they offered a free admission day so we made plans to make our trip that day.

When I say we though, I mean my husband & Ethan. The guys wanted to do this trip alone without any girls ruining all their fun so they headed their together for a full day of fun in the prehistoric world. They took the South Shore train to their destination and enjoyed a guy's day together.

When Ethan walked in and saw Sue the amazing T-Rex he said, "I have been waiting my whole life for this moment." Ryan sent me updates via text message about all the fun they were having and he took tons of pictures of all of Ethan's favorite moments from the museum.

Meanwhile, Emily & I had a wonderful girl's day. We played outside, I sat at her mini-picnic bench and shared a peanut butter & jelly sandwich with her, we snuggled, we laughed, and we went to my mom's birthday dinner celebration. We sent dad messages about what we were up to and...well, we couldn't stop smiling. Every once in awhile, Emily would look at me and say, "Where did Ethan go?" and I would remind her that he & daddy had a special day together.

When my husband got home we both remarked that we need to do that more often. We both felt a bond with each child deepen during that day and it was great to be able to devote our undivided attention to each of them.

Do you do dates with your children? How do you manage to make quality time for each child individually? I would love to get some ideas for things we could do with the kids in the future!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Monday, July 14, 2008

Sponge Ball Bullseye

My once-a-year Martha Moment is here! These sponge balls are courtesy of Martha Stewart Kids Magazine (and a double inspiration from Betz White who was featured in one of my notebook entries).

I hit the Dollar Tree and got two packages of sponges to make our creations. I followed the instructions and cut two sponges into fours and then stacked the two sponges on top of one another with alternating colors. If you buy two packages, you will have enough alternating colors to make six sponges with different colors in each. Then, simply tie the sponges off with a long piece of floss and knot it a few times to keep it in place.


Here is my plastic ice bucket filled with these sponges. The colors are so beautiful that I wanted to spend an afternoon photographing this pail of sponges. Do we stop there and let the kids play with them like this though? NO!

You could say that I am even more inventive than Martha this time! Now take an old drop cloth or sheet and use painter's tape, a permanent marker, or paint to make your bullseye. Squares are much easier with the painter's tape so we have a nice square bullseye for the kids.

Now hang your game up on the clothesline (or wherever else you can find). We weighed the bottom of the sheet down with clothespins. This sheet is also folded in half to give it a little more weight. Of course, when the wind starts blowing, give the kids extra points if they can still hit it.

Not challenging enough? Have one of your kids stand in front and block it.

For some reason, that was one roadblock too many for this toddler.

You can also grab two at a time or a whole handful of them. Make it more challenging by backing the kids up further from the mark. Our point system was 10, 20, and 30 points depending on the size of the square they hit. (PS- I promise I feed my children, they just have extremely high metabolism)

An afternoon of water fun cost us $2 in sponges, but this is a game that I hope we can play many more times together.

Labels: , , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

The Summertime List & Summertime Games

We are enjoying a summer full of fun activities, thanks to our summertime list!

Here is what we have accomplished so far:

Made homemade slushies
Ran through the sprinklers
Went to the zoo (Ft Wayne and/or Potowatomi Zoo)
Went to playgroup(s)
Went to VBS
Made homemade play dough
Made Magic Milkshakes
Went to Grandma's house to play
Watched the Car's movie and ate Jimmy John's
Went to Krispy Kreme and watched them make donuts
Had a picnic in the backyard

We still have some more things to do, but we have really been enjoying checking things off of our list. It has been a real family event with everyone pitching in to make sure that we do all of these special things.

With the completion of our patio, we have been enjoying lots of time in our own backyard. I did make a little investment in some family games for us to play outside.

We bought this Franklin 5 Game Set at Target for $14.99, which was about the price you would pay for a nice new board game. This set came in a carrying case and it has a net that you can put up and play games like badminton (our favorite), volleyball, frisbee, horseshoes, and lawn tennis (plastic rackets with a foamy ball to bounce over the net).

This has been such a fun investment because my husband and I can play this on our own or we can toss the Frisbee with the kids. The net is height adjustable and so you can lower it for the wee people in the family. We have also included the kids in the games by parking little lawn chairs for them and making them the judges (which they LOVE).

It isn't the best quality set I have owned, but I am sure we can get $14.99 of games out of it. It has been a great way to spend our evenings and it keeps us active this summer.

The other game we bought was the Eddie Bauer Bean Bag Toss set, available at Target for $49.99 (it is on sale this week, but not available on their website). Yes, this was A LOT to pay for a game, but it is just beautiful and we plan to use it for many years. We both couldn't believe how well it was made and it comes with a case so you can take it with you places. We plan to take this to the grandparent's houses (that don't have a lot of kid toys) or for get togethers with friends who don't have children yet. The kids love playing with it and dropping the bean bags into the nets. We can get pretty competitive with it, but it is a complete blast and will be fun to get out when we are entertaining in the summer.

If you wanted to be more thrifty with a bean bag toss, you could make your own too. Polliwog's Cakewalk has a wonderful tutorial for making some monster bean bags that you could craft up with the kids. I think these would be fun to do with the pails in a row (a la Bozo the Clown Show for my friends who grew up on that kind of entertainment) and do a bean bag toss with them like that too!

Do you have any games that you play with your family in the warmer weather? How do you keep the kids entertained?

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Summertime Planning

I was really inspired by Whatever's summer list and vowed that we were going to do that this summer for our family. We headed over to the Dollar Tree and picked up a piece of poster board for $.50 and a fresh new Sharpie marker for $1. On the way home, we talked about all of the things that we wanted to do this summer and we both got really excited about all of our fun plans.

Ethan made the list with us and this is what we came up with:

Go to the beach (St Joe and/or New Buffalo)
Go to the dinosaur museum (the Field Museum)
Play Mario Kart with mommy
Make homemade slushies
Run through the sprinklers
Go to the zoo (Ft Wayne and/or Potowatomi Zoo)
Go to playgroup(s)
Go to VBS
Go to the dollar movie
Sleepover with our cousin
Have an Earth Hour family night
Make homemade pizza
Eat at the food court at the mall
Make homemade play dough
Go to St Louis
Go to Granny's house to play
Make Magic Milkshakes
Go to Grandma's house to play
Go to the park
Get our first library card
Go to the water park
Make banana pops
Wash the cars with daddy
Get out the rainy day suitcase
Watch the Car's movie and eat Jimmy John's
Have an ice cream sundae night
Buy presents for the homeless shelter and deliver them
Go to Krispy Kreme and watch them make donuts
Have a picnic in the backyard
Go to the AirZoo Museum

Ethan drew a picture of his family in the summertime to go along with our list and we hung it in our kitchen for the summer.

I love that the majority of the activities he picked didn't cost money and that the ones that he did pick that cost something could be special things that we could look forward to together. Since we have no big vacation plans, this looks like a really great round-up of activities to keep us busy this summer.

It is kind of funny though... I think my husband & I are just as excited as he is!

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Kentucky Derby Bunco

Good cheap fun...that's what Bunco is! I blogged about our fabulous wedding party and my retro housewife themed Bunco that turned out to be a blast. This month's Bunco theme was the Kentucky Derby so we all donned our fabulous hats and our high heels for a fun time.

I had to borrow a hat from girlfriend so here are some pictures before I got my hat on. Ethan & Emily think it so cool when mommy dresses up for these events so they wanted to get some pictures with me before I left. The kids kept touching my dress and smelling me....hmm...I wonder what they are trying to tell me?


Just call me Sandra Lee, as I was running short on time with a ton of appointments and events going on that day. I found a Suddenly Salad in my pantry and used up what was left in our fridge to make my dish. This is their classic pasta salad flavor with a few of my own additions- romaine hearts, tomatoes, sliced black olives, and narrow slivers of pepperoni to dust the top. Despite it being convenience food (bought deeply discounted, of course!), I thought it turned out really good.

This was our lovely hostess, my friend Jessica. Jessica is also the one who taught me how to knit so I especially love her right now! She has been to the real Kentucky Derby so she wanted us all to have a taste of the food that we would eat there. She served us Kentucky Hot Browns, Cheesy Grits, Derby Pie, Mint Juleps & Mimosas. We all agreed that the food was great, but the Mint Juleps were extremely um...refreshing, but tasted horrible.

Here we all are with our hats on! We are all wearing our very best summer dresses and it is about fifty degrees outside. We all wished we were in Kentucky for this shot, but we were enjoying some derby fun in Indiana!

Gotta love a good Bunco theme and this one was GREAT!

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Water & Chalk

Two old margarine tubs filled with water and one package of paint brushes from the dollar store.

Mommy's yoga mat becomes a soft cushion for the kids to rest their bottoms on while playing on the pavement. Don't forget the sidewalk chalk so they can make even more cool pavement creations!

Ethan paints a rainbow with water and Emily just loves to paint around herself.

Emily's painting usually ends up looking like this.

Ethan layers chalk and water to make beautiful hearts for mommy.

Then we make our own little hopscotch game, but that is too boring for a boy.

Ethan calls this, "EXTREME hopscotch." He even says the word EXTREME in an EXTREME way. The rules are, you jump on number one and then hop 40,000 steps to get to number two and then you have to hop 40,000 more steps to get to the third number. These went all the way down our driveway to the very end. He wanted me to jump it, but that sounded too extreme for mommy, but perfect for an energetic little boy.

Water and chalk provide hours of enjoyment on sunny days. This is how a frugal family spends their day together and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Monday, April 28, 2008

Knit for a Cause

I am so enjoying learning how to knit and it has been a wonderful outlet for me in the evenings. I have been practicing and learning each day. Progressively, I am getting a little better, but I am no speed demon and certainly am still in the learning stages.

My mother-in-law gave me a big stack of knitting magazines to help inspire me and my knitting projects. As I was flipping through them, I noticed all of the great charities that were listed that take knitting donations. I had not thought of how learning this skill could benefit others, but now I am thinking about this hobby in a new way. If I can learn how to knit, I can benefit someone else.

Our church has a knitting club and I am a little too embarrassed to go at such an early stage, but it might benefit me to sit with some experienced knitters and let them teach me a thing or two. I have also been calling my poor mother-in-law often to brag about figuring out how to purl, how to cast off, and my daily progression on my scarf. She is so sweet to talk to me and encourage me that I am doing well or just to offer moral support when it takes simple things, like learning to purl, an entire day. Talk about slow!

I wanted to provide some links to organizations that take knitting donations. Please list any organizations that you have worked with/for and if you have had any experience knitting for charity.

These lists provide some added motivation for learning this new skill- what a gift it would be to share my handmade efforts with others.

Cubs for Kids

Interweave Knits Charity Knitting List

The Duulan Project

Newborns in Need

Threads of Love - find a chapter in your area!

SusanB's Charity Page

Headhuggers Chemo Hats

Bev's Afghanistan Project Page

"Ray of Hope" UK Charity Knitting

Special Knitting Forces

Stitches from the Heart

Project Linus Baby Blankets

The Daily Knitter Charity Knitting

Red Scarf Project - Norma Knits Blog with info

Guideposts Sweater Project

Afghans for Afghans

Knitting for Veterans

Warm Woolies - Knitting for Orphans and Poverty Stricken Children

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Retro Housewife Bunco

This month, I got to host our Bunco group, and I was so excited about my retro housewife theme. The best part about this theme was that I could display my apron collection and I could make all my friends wear aprons too.

The downfall with entertaining is that my home is a smaller space. It just means that I have to be a little more purposeful with clearing the home of clutter and finding more inventive ways to display and share all of our good food, but I did my best.

I cleared all of the shoes and coats from our entryway and replaced them with a handful of my favorite aprons from my collection. A couple of the girls said that they didn't have an apron (I know, *gasp*) so I thought they could borrow one of mine from one of our hooks when they walked in. It also helped to tie in the theme!
I love to look for benches for my house because it makes great instant seating in any room. Even an old and ugly bench can be recovered and made to look more modern with a new fabric or coat of paint. I pulled my benches into a seating arrangement that I thought would make it easy for groups to sit together and would make it easier for people to chat. These are also narrow enough that they make good seating for homes with smaller spaces.

We had a delicious retro supper prepared. I made my favorite Sloppy Joe recipe and I got mini-kaiser rolls to make it easier to eat while we played. These were served with tater tots and Rice Krispie treats for dessert. I could prepare everything ahead of time and just had to throw the tater tots in the oven before everyone arrived. I planned to serve slushies, but everyone brought a beverage to share instead so this made it easier for me.

I love to serve our food on cake stands and the covered ones are great for keeping bread from drying out and they help to create a display. If you are short on space, elevating the food can make more room for lower dishes to rest. If you don't have cake stands, you can use an inverted bowl and rest a plate on top to create a cute cake stand. Hunt at the thrift stores and you can find elegant china plates and cups or bowls to create cute little cake stands.

Coolers can get in the way when you are trying to entertain and can be difficult to hunt for just the right drink. I plugged one side of our double sink and filled it with ice. I tucked the drinks inside of there and then took a ribbon and looped a bottle opener through the ribbon and around the spout. It made it much easier to drain (just have to unplug the sink) and it also saved on space in my fridge and freezer.

What retro housewife would ever serve her guests dinner on paper plates? We kept our party green and wallet-friendly by using cloth napkins and my favorite white dishes to serve on. I had seven guests so it only equaled one fast load of dishes and everything was cleaned.

Isn't this scorekeeper so handsome? Ethan got home from grandma and grandpa's and was immediately intrigued by what all these crazy women were doing. He was so good to help keep score and even got to throw dice a few times with us.


Thank you to all my Bunco Babes who allowed me to live out one of my little fantasies. It was so fun to have a retro night with all of you!

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Earth Day Reflections

We had a great day together, celebrating Earth Day yesterday. To celebrate we spent the entire day outside and I made sure we had lots of stuff to do while we were out there. I gathered all of our supplies together and grabbed two water bottles for the kids to keep them hydrated while we were outside. Apparently, Ethan had been discussing Earth Day with his teachers because he looked at me and said, "That bottle is not a 7, right? 7's are BAD and I can't drink from them." For a moment, I felt a little bit of panic as I looked on the bottom to reveal our numbers. It appeared we had an acceptable number, but nothing like a kid to keep you on your toes.

We took our chalk outside and Ethan drew this beautiful picture of the earth. Emily helped by scribbling her own little pictures with him.



I picked up this little journal from the dollar store and told Ethan that he could fill the pages with whatever things he saw in nature. He put together some really beautiful pictures of all the things he saw. Then I wrote the alphabet for him and he filled in the book with pictures of things that started with those letters. This kept him busy for about an hour and he loved showing his book to his daddy.



While Ethan documented in his journal, I took some pictures of some of the beautiful things in our yard.

Then I plopped myself in a chair and started my new book from one of my favorite bloggers, Soule Mama. If you are looking for ways to be more creative with your kids, I would highly recommend this book.

We had a wonderful day and didn't turn the television on once! The evening was spent building forts, drawing pictures, playing in the bath, and special stories. It was a quiet and lovely Earth Day!

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Celebrating Earth Day

Happy Earth Day, everyone! I hope that you all will be celebrating this special day. We are looking forward to celebrating Earth Day as a family, not just today, but every day. My son is still talking about Earth Hour and just asked me yesterday when we could do this again. He has even been learning about how special our planet is at school and I was so excited to hear him talking about the ways he could make the world better. These are proud moments for a parent as we talk about this often with Ethan.

I never thought I was one of those kinds of parents, but here I am dumping all disposable items, cloth diapered my baby, making my own cleaners, line drying my clothes, carrying my reusable bags, gardening, and am wearing 80-90% of my clothing from the thrift store. Many of the choices I have made came from a financial standpoint, but have evolved into more of a commitment to going green than I ever imagined. Step aside, hippy moms, there is a new eco-chick in town!

Stumped for ideas? Here are a few to help you celebrate this day in a big way-

80+ Green Sites & Resources (@ Mashable)

Earth Day Crafts to Do With Your Children (@ Kaboose)

How to Celebrate Earth Day (@ WikiHow)

Earth Day Ideas for Kids & Classrooms (@ Amazing Moms)

Making Earth Day a Family Day (@ Crunchy Domestic Goddess)

Earth Day Every Day (@ Parents.com)

Celebrate Earth Day (@ EcoKids)

Let's Make This Earth Day a Real Earth Day (@ The Good Human)


Sound Off:
How do you plan to celebrate Earth Day with your kids?

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

At the Car Wash

Two shallow containers of water with just a drop of dish soap.

Mommy's ah-ha moment! Two shower loofahs, instead of sponges, so my children don't completely soak themselves.


Two cars that have been sitting idle in the garage all winter.

Two little children assess the task at hand.

Working hard.

Hardly working.
Hours of enjoyment for all!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Sunday, April 20, 2008

How Our Garden Grows

Welcome to my little garden. After my earnest attempts last year, I realized that the place I had planted in was far too shady for any good growth. After much thought and careful consideration in my yard, I decided to plant our garden alongside our patio. It is a sunny location that is close to the house, so it will make it easier on me to maintain it and water it throughout the summer.

This year I planted Italian flat leaf parsley, basil, rosemary, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, green peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli. I had some troubles finding vegetables this year so I am either really late to the gardening party or too early. I don't think I am that late considering our crazy Midwest weather, but who knows? I am hoping that our little bit of earth will help to combat the higher grocery prices this year.

I am really excited about enjoying some fresh produce from own yard again. I am also looking forward to the children helping me pick from and maintain the garden this year. Ethan was so excited to help water and also helped to hand me the plants as we did our initial planting. I can already feel that this is going to be another great year for us and I love our new garden location.

How is everyone's planting coming along? I hope your gardens are doing well!

In the spirit of good gardening and outdoor projects, here are some great links to some other fun reads:

33 Backyard Projects You Can Do (@ Tip Nut)

DIY: Build Your Own Garden Box (@ casasugar)

Planting Potatoes In Old Tires (@ Stop the Ride!)

The Bountiful Container: Gardening in Small Spaces (@ Get Rich Slowly)

The Children's Garden (@ Shakyard)

Get a Good Sack and Get To Totin' (@ Modern Cottage)

Buying Bulk Gravel (@ Clever Dude)

Rolling Out the Beauty (The Lylah Blog)

Garden Without Spending A Lot of Green (@ Not Made of Money)

Thrifty Containers for Tomatoes (@ You Grow Girl)

Creating a Kid-Friendly Garden (@ Parent Hacks)

Making Compost at Home (@ How to Compost)

The Big "O" (@ Innstyle Montana)

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

A Drizzly Saturday

Ethan's prayers were answered and we had a drizzly Saturday. The drizzles weren't so bad that they couldn't play outside, but Ryan had other plans for his Saturday that required total concentration.

We have just a few more rows to go and finally our patio will be complete. We had to rip the entire patio out last summer because a tree (which we removed) had uprooted the patio, making it a treacherous terrain to walk on and bumpy ground for our patio set. Ryan's parents redid their entire landscape in their backyard and let us take their old brick. Using our brick and mixing it with the new brick, we are making a cool design and the only cost to us has been time and sand to level and fill in the cracks. I think it will be really great when it is done, we just never expected it would take this long to complete.


The kids played in their rainy day suitcase for over two hours while Ryan was outside working. I sat on the couch and happily snapped pictures of them and worked some more on my little beginner knitting project.


This instrument that I picked up from the thrift store has been a hit with both of them. Emily was strumming a little tune for us. I love that this is a nice and quiet instrument, even if they try to play it loudly.

Quiet little Saturday at home- what could be better?

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Morning & Night

Now that it has finally warmed up, Emily & I can start taking our walks in the morning again. As soon as I drop Ethan off, we pull into the garage and get that old stroller out. I fill the little compartments with oodles of Cheerios and a cup of milk and we can set off for our morning walk together. Emily takes in the sites while I try and get my body moving again. It has been a long winter of being cooped up so it feels good to be enjoying this fresh air and sunshine.


A little rocket fuel speeds up the pace. For $2, this is a sweet little indulgence to help me go, go, go. I love McDonald's Vanilla Iced Coffees for a morning pick-me-up. A whole heck of a lot cheaper than the Starbucks and just as yummy! A large one can last me an entire day!

What happens at night in this house? A whole lot of this! Can someone be addicted to knitting because I think I have found a new addiction? I am usually wound tight as a spring at night, thinking of all that I need to do, and this little hobby has provided some soothing relief to quiet my brain. My iPod is loaded with soft music and I am clicking away on the couch. Thank you all for your great knitting help and suggestions. I am tackling my first little project and making a scarf. My pace is slow, but my heart is proud that I am doing this.

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Rainy Day Survival Kit

I have been wanting to work on this project for some time, and since it was miserable weather all weekend, it seemed like the perfect time to tackle this project. I went to Goodwill and found a plain leather suitcase for $5. I gave it a good scrubbing, when I got it home, and proceeded to decorate it with some knick knacks from my craft supplies. I tied a big bow on the handle and made it look super cool for the kids. If you have older, children, you could invite them to help you! I applied the buttons and ribbon with my trusty hot glue gun.

Hmm... I wonder what could be inside? Let's take a peek, shall we?

It might not look like much to you and me, but to my kids...well, this is a good couple of hours of enjoyment. Inside here I have coloring books, crayons, a deck of cards, pipe cleaners (yes, I told you it wouldn't look like much to us), a 100 piece puzzle, little spinning princess tops, yo-yos, dinosaurs, a little jewelry set with a crown, board games, quiet instruments, and books. Some of the items were "new" and purchased from the thrift store, some were items that I had been rotating and storing because no one was playing with them, and some of them were purchased from the dollar store. I would say even with the cost of the suitcase, there is probably about $15 of stuff invested here, but it is OH SO WORTH IT!

You could pick activities based upon how involved you really want to be with this. If you are looking for a little sanity break, I would suggest putting things in there that they could enjoy playing with by themselves or with their siblings. If you are looking for a good time to bond with your kids, put things in there that you can do with them like board games or stuff for art projects. If you are super smart, you will have a case of each- momma needs a break suitcase and momma wants to be your awesome friend suitcase.

This is such a hit in our house! Ethan keeps asking if it is wet on the ground because he wants to play with this special stuff. Pretty sad when your kids are begging for rainy days, but it makes me feel like this was a great idea and a great way to keep them occupied! Being a Midwest girl, I am sure I will have plenty of days to really use this. If I lived in Seattle, I might have to have a few hundred of these so they wouldn't get tired of the same old stuff.

Might I just add that this would be a great birthday gift for a child and would be a wonderful addition to a grandparent's house too! I am thinking this would be something fun that I could put together for my nephews or would be a great way to store a little girl's dress-up clothes. The possibilities really are endless.

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Spring Break '08 Cost Breakdown

We did so much over our spring break, that we took the last day off to just rest. The kids were tired and so was I, but we finished the weekend off with a yummy dinner and another free Netflix rental..."Alvin & the Chipmunks."

Here is our cost breakdown for our fun & frugal spring break:

1. Local Park- Free
2. Playing & Working Outside in the Yard, Dinner & "The Bee Movie" to watch- Free
3. Zoo- Admission $12 (Side Note- We just purchased a family pass for $55, which we will use all summer)
4. Healthworks Museum- Free Admission Day
5. Ethan's First Sleepover & Dinner with My Sister- $1.50 for tolls to pick him up
6. Knitting Playgroup & a Birthday Party- $1.69 for yarn & $4 for ingredients for birthday pies

Total Cost- $19.19 for six days of fun!

We saved money by packing lunch at the zoo and the playgroup we attended. For all of the other stuff we did, we just made sure that I had something in mind for what we could eat for dinner so that we weren't tempted to eat out.

We timed a Netflix free trial subscription to our spring break and enjoyed a couple of great movies with the kids when the weather turned bad. I think we are going to keep the membership though because we cut our channels back and it has been so nice to have something to look forward to in the evenings.

I asked Ethan what his favorite thing he did on his break was and he said it was a tie between going to the park, going to the zoo, going to the museum, and going to his cousin's for a sleepover. I think that indicates that I was successful in creating some fun memories for him without breaking the bank.

We hope to share more of our thrifty experiences with you when making our summer vacation plans! After all, who says you need to spend a lot of money to have a great time?

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Friday, April 11, 2008

Kid's Summer Movie Club

Cinemark has a program this summer for a fun movie club for kids! I was so thrilled to see that our area (Mishawaka- Movies 6) is participating. For us, this program is running at our second-run theater, which is normally a $2 admission. For $5 though, we could get into ten movies this summer- what a deal! Lucky for us, this movie theater is just a few blocks down from our house so it would be a great way to entertain the kids and keep cool this summer.

Here are the details from the website:

• 10 Weeks Of Fun Films For Kids •
• A Different Movie Every Week •
• Weekday Mornings This Summer •

All 10 movies can be purchased in advance for $5.00, or can be
purchased separately at the box office for $1.00 per show.

$5 Series punch cards are limited and are available while supplies last.
Admission with a series punch card is limited to one person per card per movie.

The films that have been selected are rated either G or PG


For more details and to see if your area is participating, check this list!

Labels: , , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Spring Break Day Six


Can you guess what I learned how to do while Ethan was on break? I can hardly believe it, but I can knit now! For our sixth day of spring break, we headed over to my friend Jessica's for a "knitting playgroup," where she taught a group of us how to knit while our kids played. I never would believe in a million years that I could do something like this, but here is some picture proof that I am getting the hang of it. After struggling through her class, I came home and just kept trying and trying. Thanks to a patient teacher and great first lesson, here is how I am doing.

I realize it isn't perfect, but this is my first try and I am so proud. Does anyone have any tips for a newbie knitter? How to save money on knitting? What are the best first projects? What is the best size knitting needles? You know, stuff you wish you would have known when you first started out! I would appreciate your help!

The kids also had a great time playing with the other kids while we gabbed and Jessica helped each of us with our little knitting projects. Total cost spent on this event was $1.69 for yarn (I borrowed a set of her needles).We spent the evening at my brother's birthday party. What kids don't love a good birthday party? He turned 22 and we headed to his house for a celebration. Mom & Dad got pizza and I made two homemade Key Lime Pies for his special day. Despite the lime shortage at the grocery store, they turned out to be really yummy, although a little thinner on the filling than I had hoped! I spent about $4 on ingredients (everything else came from our pantry). Happy birthday, John!

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Spring Break Day Five

On the fifth day of Spring Break, my true love gave to me....Wait! That's not how it goes! Well, on day five of our break we had my sister and nephews over for dinner. I made chicken tacos and a tray of Rice Krispie treats for dessert.

When my sister comes over it is a built-in playgroup for us. There are only six months between Emily & Jackson and nine months between Austin & Ethan. The kids play so well together that the two of us can spend a lot of time with our feet kicked up so it works out great for us.

At the end of the evening, my sister invited Ethan over to stay the night for the boy's first sleepover. Ethan goes to his grandparent's house frequently, but he hasn't gotten the chance to do a sleepover with a friend yet. We had our fingers crossed that it would go well.

The boys did good until they got up super early and were both just a mess by noon. I met my sister halfway to pick the boys up (to save us both on gas and driving time since she lives two towns away). Total cost was $1.50 to pay for tolls to get to our meeting location and gas.


We asked the two little ones to pose for a picture and this is what resulted- they both laid down and arched their backs. Yeah, this is the stage we are going through right now!

Emily loved watching the two older boys play on the Wii. They used it to draw silly pictures for her and it was cracking her up.

Ethan & Austin are best buddies! I just loved this shot of them!

I might be partial, but aren't my nephews adorable? Jackson is obsessed with playing ball right now and actually took one of our balls home because he couldn't part with it.


And what do my sister and I do while the boys play? We eat and eat and eat and eat. I don't know why we do this, but that is what we did. There were hardly any Rice Krispie treats left after all of our eating!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Spring Break Day Four

Today we went for the free day at our local Healthworks Museum. On the 8th day of each month this year, they offer free admission and I thought this would be a fun (and affordable) activity to do with the kids. Apparently every parent in our community thought the same thing because there were over 200 people in that one room museum. It was complete insanity and I was feeling a little panicky because I couldn't keep an eye on both kids at the same time. I met my friend Kyra, from Kids Around the Bend and my friend Katie, who helped me keep an eye on Ethan while I tailed Emily around the museum, but we were all overwhelmed with so many children there!


Emily really loved the food displays that shared what foods to eat and how our food is digested. The pumpkin was a definite favorite and she carried it around with her.

Lots of food puzzles were there for the kids to put together.

Do you see anything funny growing in the garden? Ethan pops up among the flowers.


They had a cute little market stand where the kids could weigh, purchase, and sell food. Emily and Ethan spent a lot of time there.

We planned to head over to the Chocolate Cafe to see the new kid's play area and have lunch there, but Emily was BESIDE herself and threw the biggest tantrum of the century in the play area. Tears were shed all around as Ethan lost his "lucky" balloon as soon as we walked outside and Emily continued to throw her tantrum all the way out to the car. I think we were all overwhelmed with the amount of people at both locations.

At least we saved some money by eating lunch at home and Emily headed straight to bed for her nap!

I am planning to head back to the Chocolate Cafe another time with just Ethan though- we have both been looking forward to visiting it and seeing the new play area.

All in all, not the best day for Emily, but Ethan had a fabulous time!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Monday, April 07, 2008

Spring Break Day Three

Today we visited the zoo. We were planning to go on our own, but I called my girlfriend and she was heading to the zoo too so we decided to meet up. We purchased our zoo pass for the year ($55 for a family pass), but we visit the zoo often and also go to other more expensive zoos, so it ends up paying for itself within a few visits.


Do you see anyone else in the picture? The tiger is in the far left, and the crazy lady with the camera is dead center. The kids loved seeing the tiger!


Ethan's best buddy, Alexis!

Emily's favorite exhibit was the monkeys. She loved making monkey sounds at them. Say, "Cheese!"


Taking time for a quick pose on the turtle.

We packed a lunch to save some money and ate at the park. I had some leftover Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad that made the perfect lunch. The kids enjoyed some yummy peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, apples, and crackers.

The rest of the day I plan to catch up on laundry and getting the house back in order since I was away. If you are looking for some fun things to do with the kids today, check out my post, "Creative Toy Replacements" featured on Blissfully Domestic!

Sound Off: Do you purchase a family pass to any area attractions?

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Spring Break Day Two


Today we worked on the yard together as a family. I mowed the lawn to help mulch up the leaves, we worked on our flower beds a little, trimmed the hedges, and also laid down some grass seed. It doesn't sound like much fun, but that was what needed to be done today!

While I mowed, the kids were watching me from the window. They kept knocking on the glass to get me to wave and making funny faces.

After it was safe for them to come out, they helped rake and gather leaves with me. They also spent some time playing in the water table, blowing bubbles, and kicking a beach ball.

We headed inside for a yummy dinner- Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, Cheese & Crackers, and some freshly chopped carrots. I timed a Netflix free trial subscription to our Spring Break so we watched, "The Bee Movie" while we enjoyed the yummy food.

This would have been another day of no spending, but Ethan cashed in his tickets to rent a game. Does anyone else think that $9 is a bit too steep for a Wii game rental? What in the world? My husband took him and let him pick what he wanted. Next time, we agreed that we will get a Playstation game or even buy a used game for that price (at Blockbuster). What a rip off!

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Spring-y Break Day One Pt II


Emily loved the swings best of all! She spent a good hour letting me push her in the swing. We all took turns giving her a good push- even Ethan!


Ethan prefers the slides!


Complete and utter joy.



Dontcha wish your mommy was hot like this? Crazy wild hair ensues after a day at the park and there were tears all the way home from Emily. I look like I am smiling, but I am gritting my teeth because she is doing the best to kick the back of the seat because she is mad that I made her leave the park. Ahhh! Motherhood!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Spring-y Break Day One


We match perfectly! You know, me and the color red- I am enforcing the color on my kid now too!


Peeking Out


My handsome hubby!


Emily was not looking forward to her picture being taken. It was keeping her from the swings! Remember, it is painful to have our pictures done with our mommy!


A fun day at the park with the kids was how we decided to kick off our spring break! It was a beautiful day outside and we couldn't resist taking advantage of such a perfect day. I have missed the kids so much and they enjoyed a whole day of fun & sunshine with us!

We are looking forward to a fun week ahead and I have lots of ideas for fun & cheap things that I can do with them while we are on break. Ryan is back to work, after taking vacation time for my trip, so it will be just the three of us during the day this week.

Sound Off: Any big plans Spring Breakers?

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Who Is the Old Lady Now?

I have been having so much fun teaching Ethan some cool card games. Growing up, we had a deck of Old Maid cards that we played Old Maid with so I had no idea that you could play Old Maid with a regular old deck of cards.

This game is great for kids between 5-10, because it is easy to learn and to play. This game is more fun if you have 3-6 players, but you can play with two players (which is easier for smaller children and putting together matches).

Before you can begin, remove all of the Queens in the deck except for one. Shuffle and distribute the cards, one at a time and face down.

Each player looks at their hands and pulls out any two cards that match in rank. Each player lays his match face down in a pile beside him. If a player has three cards of the same number, one stays in his hand.

After matches are all sorted, fan out your cards for the other player to grab from. Keep taking turns and making matches. Since there is only one Queen, the Old Maid, no match can be made for her. At the end of the hand, the player left holding the Old Maid loses the game.

You could also pretend to cry, like Ethan demonstrates for our photo!

Want to switch the game up? How about making the Old Maid an Old Boy and using the Jack as your odd man out!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Old School Momma Declares War

When I was a little girl, we had the best babysitter in the entire world, who took care of us when my mom worked. She was an elderly woman named Mrs. Davis and I worshiped the ground she walked on. She always brought with her a bag of goodies to keep us entertained. In her bag of tricks were Little Golden Books to read to us (from her own personal collection), a small bag of candy for each child, and a deck of cards to play games with us. Her deck was secured with a trusty rubber band that I loved to snap, snap, snap while she dealt the cards out. My memories of her and being with her make me a little misty eyed. Mrs. Davis passed away several years ago, but the memory of her and her bag of tricks lives in my heart.

When I visited Goodwill, I picked up a deck of cards for $.50 and have decided to begin teaching my son some of the games that were so fun for me when I was a kid. I thought I would share some of the games we tried and the rules for how to play them.

This game is guaranteed to last for centuries and was a great quiet game to keep him entertained while Emily napped. I used my popcorn popper and made us a batch of popcorn to be snacked on while we played.

We started with the game of, "War." This is an excellent game to start with because it teaches young children card ranking. A good age for this game is between 4-12 and the only equipment you need is a deck of cards...and a little stamina.

Rules for War:

Shuffle the cards well. Deal the entire deck, keeping all of the cards down and no peeking. To begin, both players turn their top cards simultaneously and place them side by side, face up, in the center. The one who plays the higher ranking card gets to keep both the cards (Aces are high in this game). These cards are added to the bottom of the winner's stack.

When both players turn over cards of the same rank (you have an Ace, they have an Ace), "war" is declared. Smaller children really get into this and we started to shout, "War!" out together. Each player then places the top three cards from his stack face down on the original card. Then each places a fourth card face up on top of the three face-down cards. The higher face-up card will win all of the ten cards. If these match you can declare a, "DOUBLE WAR!" (be sure to shout it for added enjoyment) and then the battle continues.

Whomever ends up with the entire deck of cards is the winner. A player can also win if their opponent runs out of cards in the middle of the war.

There are variations on War that I am looking forward to exploring, but I wanted to start with an easy game for a 5 year old.

You can also add in your own rules. Ethan decided that, "The loser gets lots of popcorn," but only when he lost. The winner also, "got more lemonade," but only when he won. When I lost though, I "just lost." Yes, those can be the challenges when playing with a 5 year old kid!

I tell you though... the game still hasn't lost its novelty to me and I thought fondly of Mrs. Davis and my special time with her!

Sound Off: What was your favorite game growing up?

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Good Cheap Fun- BUNCO!

I don't know if any of you participate in Bunco or any other fun game like this, but I joined a Bunco League that has been an ultimate blast for me once a month.

This past week's was probably the most fun yet because our theme was so great! The theme was "Weddings" and we all were told to wear our wedding dresses or favorite bridesmaid dress to the event. Considering how much people pay for these dresses, any opportunity you have to wear this more than once seems like a great idea to me!

I borrowed a dress from a girlfriend, who has been in her fair share of weddings, and got all dressed up for the event. My husband got a big kick out of me dressing up like this, complete with warm socks and snow boots. Considering the freezing Indiana temperatures, I wasn't about to brave it in a sexy pair of strappy shoes.

Our host went all out with a Polish Wedding Buffet complete with a wedding cake, made by her aunt. The food included homemade Polish sausage, herb-buttered noodles, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, and lots of yummy appetizers. We stuffed ourselves silly and then played Bunco by the light of her Unity candles.

In our league, the cost is $5 to play and a booby prize to be given to the person with the most losses. I eat more than $5 in food and sometimes I win my $5 back (or more) at the end of the game. For an entire evening of great fun and good food, it is totally worth the investment.

The booby prizes were a hoot and many people graciously passed on their ugly wedding gifts that they got from their own weddings. It was hilarious to see the gifts that were given and the hideous gifts that people got.

Each person went home with a wedding favor of chocolates wrapped in netting. Every detail went into the event and we all had such a blast dressing up and hanging out. Much thanks to our hostess for the evening for making the night so special!

If you are thinking of starting your own Bunco league, you can get more information at this website. I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for some good cheap fun. Best of all, it is a great way to build friendships and get away from the kids for a night.

Sound Off:
Do you do a game or activity regularly with your friends? What are some cheap ways that you have found to socialize?

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Hospital Hospitality

I am sorry that I have not been posting as much this week. My grandfather had to undergo surgery, this past Thursday, and I have been back and forth to the hospital to be with him. He had an aneurysm that needed to be operated on, and has been suffering some setbacks from his surgery. He is currently in ICU and is needing lots of prayers, so please keep our family in your thoughts. I know he would really appreciate the good thoughts and prayers, as do the rest of our family.

I never know what to do in crisis situations except to cook. Since I knew everyone would be sitting in the waiting room for hours on end, I figured I could make some snacks for everyone while we were waiting. I made some of my granola bars, Rice Krispy treats (with whole grain Cheerios mixed in since I ran out of Rice Krispy cereal), and some of my trail mix.

I save my oatmeal containers since they make the perfect container to put snacks in. When I send treats to college students, I use these containers and decorate them. I really love to give gifts in the oatmeal containers. They make a great presentation for anything containing oatmeal like oatmeal cookies, granola bars or anything else that utilizes this ingredient.

There are a variety of ways to decorate oatmeal containers to pretty them up. Here are some examples of cute ways to decorate these:

- Take wallpaper or gift wrap and wrap the container.
- Crinkle a brown paper bag and cut out a circle to go around the top of the container. Use a wide ribbon to secure the paper bag on top.
- Take a hole punch and punch out two holes on the top of the lid. Loop ribbon through the top of the lid and tie a bow on top. You can also loop a gift tag through it and stamp or decorate the tag with well wishes.
- Get your child involved and have them help you decorate the container. Have them draw a picture on Kraft paper or on construction paper and have them write their name on it. This can make the gift even more special for grandparents.
- Have your child cut out pictures of their favorite things and make a collage on the outside of the container.

The containers themselves make a practical solution for transporting treats, since the snacks are less likely to get smashed, and you will have no worries about leaving the container (unlike your favorite Tupperware).

If you know of a family who will be at the hospital, this can be a thoughtful gift to bring along with you. As someone who has been spending a little more time than usual at the hospital, I can attest to the fact that the days are long and the food is bad, not to mention expensive. Save that family some money and provide some healthy snack alternatives. I guarantee they will appreciate the gesture. There might not be much you can do about the situation, but making it more bearable is appreciated by the family members.

Tuck in some snacks for the family, the newspaper, old magazines and a favorite book. These things can help make the days less long for families and they will really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Related Readings:

Chewy Granola Bar Recipe

Teaching My Kid to Say Thank You
How to Make Trail Mix
Sharing the Bounty

Sound Off: What are some other containers that you like to reuse in your house? Do you have any hospital hospitality tips to share?

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Monday, June 11, 2007

Discounted Museum Day: Field Museum

This is the only museum admission we will be paying for this summer, but for a little boy who sleeps, eats and breathes dinosaurs, it is totally worth it! We couldn't be more excited to take him to this museum and I think he and his dad are going to love it!

The Field Museum (in Chicago) is offering discount days, where you can go to the museum for a reduced rate. Normal admission prices, which include their Platinum Package gaining access into everything, is $22 per adult and $11 per child. For their discount days, we will get access into everything for $12 per adult and $7 per child.

We usually bypass the extra features and just go for the general admission passes, but we really want him to get to see everything in the museum this time. The Platinum Pass entitles you entry into Underground Adventure and Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries plus SUE, Evolving Planet (which requires a separate timed-entry ticket) and Inside Ancient Egypt as well as exhibitions on many different cultures, mammals, birds, gems, minerals, and plants! We would really like for him to experience all of the dinosaur exhibits and since the tickets are discounted, we are going to splurge on this one!

The even better news is that Emily's grandmother offered to keep her for the day so that Ethan can enjoy a day with just the two of us. We are looking forward to spending some special time with him and getting to really focus on him having a great time. This is his day and we want to make it extra special for him.

Discount days to the museum are June 17-22 this summer so if you are in the area, you might want to take advantage of the lower prices!

We will still be taking the train during the times that our son can ride for free and will be packing a big lunch and snacks for us to enjoy while we are there. I am still trying to keep the trip budget-friendly, but we are splurging for the extra features since we will be there!

SOUND OFF: Has anyone been to this museum before? Anything to avoid? Any favorite parts?

Labels:

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

A Saving Grace for a Family Vacation: School Zone Products

I feel very blessed to get the opportunity to review so many great products, and the School Zone company had contacted me in May to see if I would be interested in reviewing some of their products for them. I replied that I would welcome the opportunity and hid the box away for our upcoming vacation day. I wanted to have something new for them to do while we were on the train, and these fun activities seemed like just the ticket.

School Zone sent us a variety of products, tailored to fit the ages of our children- 4 & 1 years of age. For our daughter (our one year old), they sent the Happy Faces Infant Cards, the Peek a Boo Bunny Guess Who? cards, and the Fuzzy Animal Discovery cards.

The cards are educational cards that provide texture and bright colors for your little one. They are intended to build cognitive development by providing sensory-rich experiences for baby. Emily really enjoyed the Happy Faces cards, which had a mirror on it and then fit the animals around the cards. Each time she would look at the animal, she could see her face and I was able to share rhymes and activities with her using the cards. Their Fuzzy Animal Discovery cards, had an animal on each side and incorporated foil and tuggable fabrics for baby to interact with. Emily's favorite cards were the Peek a Boo Bunny cards, which had a plush bunny that had magnets built into its hands, to cover the eyes for a game of peekaboo. Each of the cards had a flap and had a hidden animal behind it. She sleeps with her two little bunnies, so the bunny activity proved to be the most fun for her.

For Ethan, he received a 3D Preschool Magnetic Tin. This was, by far, the highlight for both of our children. This tin included 76 number, letter, and shape magnets. It also include 3D animal magnets. The tin created a magnetic surface for the children to stick their magnets on and several worksheets that could create a playing and learning surface for them. Emily could also play with these, while being closely supervised, and the kids both wanted to play with this set more than anything else. It is a great set for traveling or for quiet times at church service. We will be taking these a lot of places with us. He also received some really great flash cards and a peg puzzle book! The book is being stored away for a rainy day, but he did enjoy the flash cards. The winner with him though was most definitely the magnetic tin!

School Zone offers so many great products and we aren't the only ones who think so. They won a record of nine iParenting Media Awards for their efforts. Jonathan Hoffman, CEO of School Zone Publishing Company, said, "We are thrilled with our record win of nine iParenting Media Awards for Excellent Products of 2007. From our president to the designers, engineers, sales staff, and more, School Zone is passionate about developing great educational products for children. Many times, we only have the sales numbers to validate our creative efforts. It is affirming to learn that our products shined when reviewed by experts!”

Please visit School Zone for more information on their educational products. We thank the company wholeheartedly for giving us the opportunity to share these products with our children, and for making our trip much more bearable!

Sound Off: Do your children have any favorite toys that incorporate learning activities into them? What is your favorite "quiet" activity for your children to do?

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Lessons Learned from a Day Trip to the Museum

You guys left some fabulous vacation tips in my last entry- thanks for the tips on all of the things to do in the Chicago area and ways to see the sites in the US for cheap!

Well, we survived a day trip with the two children to the Museum of Science & Industry, in Chicago, Illinois. We were in survival mode, as Emily did not enjoy any portion of it and cried almost the entire day. She did not seem to appreciate the sites or the train ride there. Lesson #1 learned: Taking an 18 month old to the museum is quite challenging and no amount of tricks in mommy's bag were interesting enough. This stage is very hard with kids because they don't want to ride in the stroller for any length of time, but she is also not walking so we couldn't set her loose either.

The hard part, for us, was that the returning train times were so limited. The first one (around 12:30) would have been too early, but the one later (after four), was way too late. We had to wait for the later train and the kids were both too tired to enjoy anything as the day progressed. Six hours in a museum with two children who desperately needed a nap was too long for them and for us us. We must have looked pretty bad as a man came up to us and told us that he could tell that we looked like we had a long day. I mentioned that the train times were limited to South Bend and he taught me our next lesson. Lesson #2 learned: There are many more time slots available taking the train out of Michigan City versus the South Bend location. Although we would have to drive 45 minutes, we would still not be driving in Chicago, and we would shave some of the time off of the train trip. We are definitely going to be doing that next time!

Ethan did enjoy the train ride though and struck up a long conversation with the conductor including telling him his age, his cousin's age, and all about where he was going. He was in heaven on the way there, but the novelty did wear off on the return trip.

Ethan's favorite part of the museum was definitely the train exhibit. If you have a little boy who is into trains, this is a great place to take them. They let you tour a train with a conductor and learn all about it. There are also amazing trains to look at and train sets to watch. He wanted to stay in that section for hours.

We also appreciated the museums, "Idea Factory" which was a special play area for the kids to burn off some energy. They had a section of the area dedicated to children under 36 months, with tons of things to look at and do. Emily enjoyed playing in the water table and playing on their baby jungle gym. As a side note, they had a changing area and an area for mommies to able to rock their little ones and nurse them privately. When I was nursing, this was a huge perk for me, so I thought I would mention it!

Overall, we did have a wonderful trip. I think next time we will either pick the train up at an alternate location, or next time just take Ethan on his own. The important part for us was that we create some really great memories for our family, and I think we accomplished that! We look forward to many more of the free admission days in Chicago and we thank the Museum of Science & Industry for giving us the opportunity to visit such an amazing museum for free!

Total spent for train: $40 (the children rode for free because we took advantage of the train's Family Fare)
Total spent at the museum: $12 (for drinks & a special treat at the end of the day)
Cost for a day in Chicago for a family of four: $52

I hope you enjoyed your virtual day trip with us!

Labels: , ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Busy Day Activities for Warm Weather

I just want to say thank you all so much for the fabulous entries that you have been sending in for the “Good Kids Bad Habits” book giveaway. I have gotten so many great entries that I think I will have to give my copy away too because it will be so hard to choose. Keep them coming and I look forward to publishing them all.

I am sorry that it has been awhile since my last blog entry. The weather here has been so beautiful these past few days that we have been taking full advantage of it. It has been so nice to get to go for walks, to work on the yard a bit (which is suffering from serious neglect), and visit the park. The best part for me about it warming up though is the fact that I feel like we can take on more social engagements because of the gorgeous weather.

In the winter, there just isn’t that much to do around here. I don’t enjoy the cold weather and what usually ends up happening is that I begin to meet my girlfriends for lunch, coffee, or hook up at the mall for the kids to play. I don’t always want to entertain at my house, but finding a neutral location during the winter can be difficult. All of these solutions though seem to put a dent in my allowance for the week, and we know how much I love to spend money.

Here is some fun and frugal things you can be enjoying this spring & summer. Feel free to add to my list as I am sure you all are much more creative than I am. What are some activities that you do in the summer that cost little to nothing?

1. Go to the parks- find out what is available in your area to do. Many parks offer free classes during the daytime and free outdoor concerts that you can be enjoying in the evening time. Pack a lunch or pack a dinner and enjoy the fresh air with the kids. It makes cleanup from the mealtime simple and they can burn off some energy & calories while playing on all the playground equipment.

2. Join a summer reading program. Have your children commit to reading a certain number of books or challenge them to a reading contest and see who of the children (or how about yourself?) can read the most books by the end of the summer. Try to incorporate some of the suggested reading materials from your child’s teacher.

3. Stock up a container with craft supplies and instructions for completing crafts. This container will come in handy when it is raining outside and the children are bored. Visit FamilyFun.com and print out the instructions to go in your container.

4. Speaking of bored…create an “I’m bored” list and write down some activities that your children can be doing instead of telling you how bored they are. You can incorporate some of the ideas from this list.

5. Plan a day trip. Visit your library to get suggestions in your state (or neighboring states) of day trips that you can do together.

6. Find out what summer programs your library is offering. For example, our library shows movies during the summer, does an ice cream social, and offers different types of crafts to do each month.

7. Take your child’s art supplies outside and set up shop out there. Messy crafts, such as painting, can be done outside without a lot of clean-up.

8. Make your kids a magic milkshake or slushie.

9. Hit your local dollar store and stock up on stuff to do outside.

10. Take a hobby with your child or children. What could be more fun than learning a new skill together? Take a course or check out books and learn a craft or hobby together and use that time to really bond with your child.

11. Start working on gifts for Christmas. Working with your child on these types of activities now will make them seem less overwhelming when it gets closer to Christmas. Painted mugs, anyone?

12. Host an outdoor playgroup. Use this great website to get ideas for theme ideas.

13. Set up the sprinkler or kiddy pool and run through them with your kids. Watch as they look at you with bewilderment as you run like a crazy lady in your regular clothes in that cold water. Watch your husband’s mouth drop open and look at you as though you have been doing drugs….yes, I have done this. Can you tell?

14. Make a popcorn table and fill it with sand toys for your kids. Take it outside and let them throw popcorn around with wild abandonment. No messy sand to clean up.

15. Stock your beach bag with the essentials and store it in your car for a day at the park or a day at the beach. Don’t forget the baby powder!

More Sunny Weather Reading:
Summer Survival
Organized Travel
Gearing Up for Summer

Whatever you do, here in the Midwest, we enjoy the warm weather as long as it lasts! I hope you enjoy some sun-filled days too!

Labels: ,

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Things To Do When You Are Snowed In

Well, maybe all you folks out in the South aren’t covered with snow like Indiana is, but maybe you just are looking for some things to do to pass the time? Here is a compiled list of ideas to pass those long days at home…

1. Start paying your bills online. Signing up through CheckFree.com saves you time and stamps. I love getting their reminders to pay my bills and it makes preparing for taxes a cinch. I was disappointed that they have discontinued relationships with a few of the bigger companies that we work with (American Express & GMAC for starters), but it is still a great way to pay your bills and there are no monthly fees. If you don’t want to do your bills through a third-party, you can contact the companies you pay your bills to and sign up for their online bill-paying or have automatic withdrawals taken from your account.

2. Do your shopping through reward sites. These posts on MyPoints & Ebates should help you start gaining rewards for doing your shopping this year. Why shouldn’t you get a few freebies for things you are already buying? I just got another “Big Fat Check” from Ebates for $45.

3. Give your kids a bath. Oh wait! Am I supposed to be doing that regularly? Bath time does not need to be boring though with recipes for bathtub crayons & bathtub finger-paints. Check this post for thirteen tips to make your children’s bath time fun.

4. Update your spice rack with spices you actually DO use. Do you use Coriander regularly? I don’t! I do use a lot of grill seasoning mixes though. Updating your spice rack will save space in your cupboards and will make the spices you do use more accessible when cooking.

5. Program your cell phone with some handy numbers you might wish you had later on. Anyone ever use their phone as a light to try and hunt through the phone book for the electric company’s telephone number? Read this list for some contacts you should add to your address book.

6. Weed through some of your child’s artwork. Every mom knows that all of the pieces of artwork are special, but it is hard to highlight your favorites if you have piles of artwork stored. I shared a tip that we use for weeding through our son’s artwork that still works like a charm.

7. Find some free artwork for your child’s room. I offered a fun tip for putting your children’s books to work in your kid’s rooms.

8. Bag up some dinners for your family. This weekend I am bagging up pizza mix, cornbread mix, cocoa mix, and pancake mix. This saves me so much time throughout the week and I only have to dirty up the kitchen once versus every night.

9. Hunt for all of those broken crayons, scattered all over the house, and put them together to make fun crayons using a muffin tin & your oven. These are a blast to make with your children and are much better than throwing those crayons away!

10. Rent a free movie from your library or use a free code from RedBox. I just got a newsletter from the site and they have new RedBox codes for free movies.

11. Order what you need from Sam’s Club and then make them hunt through the store for you. It is fun to browse through their site and no need to entertain children while you are trying to figure out the best price.

12. How about treat yourself instead of treating the kids? Check this post for a few ideas on ways you can care for yourself!

13. Don’t wait until the last minute and start planning your child’s birthday party now! This post shares a directory for places that offer children’s birthday parties.

14. Update your calendar and use a free organizing software program. No more miscommunications between you & your hubby about your girl’s night out anymore. Using this software will allow your calendar to be right at his fingertips!

15. Hunt through your cupboards and find some plain white mugs and do a painting craft together with your children. This craft was a hit in our house and killed a few hours in a long day at home.

16. Craving some yummy restaurant food, but you don’t want to brave the cold weather? Try making some restaurant classics from home using these recipes I have provided. It might not taste just like the restaurant food, but it will be a hit in your house all the same!

17. Menu plan for the next month or so. Stumped for ideas? Check all of those take out menus that have been hiding in a drawer for inspiration.

18. Share the best piece of advice you have ever gotten or just read the responses from some of our readers.

19. Organize a gift closet to help you with all of those functions you will be going to this next year. This is the first entry in our series for stocking your closet.

20. Have you not made an effort with some relatives in awhile? Try penning a newsletter about your family and include some updated photos of your children. I loved this new free newsletter software for its ease and beauty.

Labels:

ENJOYED THIS POST? SHARE IT WITH OTHERS:

Click to share on StumbleUpon STUMBLE This Click to share on kirtsy Add to KiRTSY Click to share on Mixx Add to MIXX Click to share on DeliciousIt's DELICIOUS