playroom to be yourself

Sorry about the poor quality of pictures...my camera broke and I am using a ancient one!!!!

We have been working on creating a space the kids can be themselves, a place where they can see themselves, and a place where they can play by themselves! Above is our reading nook! Above the nook is a canvas painting by the both of them. Above the chalkboard is frames with clips so we are able to hang all their artwork! Still looking for the perfect cushion for our lateral file-bench, but for now the dog helps cushion our buns for some great reading time! (shhh I found two lateral files for 3 dollars at a garage sale...dan thought they were useless....but can't go wrong for some storage and a bench...all the kid's games are stored inside..I used the other one as a crafty storage..another post another day).

My favorite part of the room. I painted the sign when I first found out I was pregnant still love and hold true to those words! The handprint canvases we just made. I first painted the canvas red and blue then use the opposite color on each for my handprint on one and Dan's on the other. Then I had each of the kid's do theirs with white (korra on top of mine and Chi on top of Dan's) Love that I will be able to have this for many years to come! How do you make your house kid friendly? Enjoy!

too long

I love little feet...couldn't resist turning my niece's feet into ghost for her first halloween! Just have to add some eyes!

I bought these little pumkins for 1 dollar each with intentions of using them for a little gift. So I made little tags that say: Thanks for taking care of our little "pumpkin" ! These will be given to chi's teachers on Halloween!

I know it has been too long. To be honest I am not sure I am cut out for both of these blogs, but I have a fun idea or two to share so while I may not post too often I hope I am able to post a bit more now that chi is in school! Enjoy!

Mother's day/sorry

Sorry I know I should be posting about Mother's day activities and I know I have them all running through my head, but life is busy. I am thinking I will try to add more ideas to my family blog instead of trying to keep up with both blogs? I am still debating!
Thanks for hanging with me....here are a few mother's day traditions off the top of my head:
I always try to give the grandparent(s) my parens one homemade gift each year. This may range from a card to a scrapbook or anything with a handprint works for my mom. Use their footprints to create tootsie tulips....attach their painted footprint to pipe cleaners for a whole bunch of flowers!
Think of someone who lost their mother this year and try to cheer them up with a celebrate all your mom did gift! Our neighbor lost her mom on Christmas Eve and i would love to encorage her on a holiday that may not be so fun for her.
Get a picture with your kids, come on ladies i know you are always the one behind the camera...sneak in on a few this week!

Easter eggs

We love dying Easter eggs and the kids have asked several times already about it this year. I am trying to hold off as long as possible. Here are a few fun Easter egg dye ideas: -make your own dye ( I have to admit I usually just buy the dye): 1 teaspoon food coloring, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 cup hot water. -try coloring it with crayons before dying it -add 1 tbsp of oil to the dye -glue different things to the egg (sequins, news paper, written verses) -Use different items to paint with on the eggs (cotton balls, flowers, etc) What to do with all those eggs: Use the shells for art work-crumble them us and glue them on to paper. Spread glue all over and sprinkle with glitter Deviled eggs Top your salad with eggs Egg salad sandwich What do you do with all those eggs?

Easter art

The kids and I are making easter art for our walls and I thought I would share a few ideas.

Coffee filter Easter eggs-cut a coffee filter in an oval shape. Use all different color markers making whatever design you wish. Then use a water bottle to spray water on to the coffee fiter. (fyi you may want to do this in something with a paper towel underneath it). Let them dry and tada! We used the paper towel under the coffee filters to make butterflies. We just bunched them in the middle and you have a beautiful butterfly.

Hard boiled egg painting-Boil an egg, place it in a shoe box with a piece of paper on the bottom and some paint. Let your child roll the egg in and around the paint by moving the box.

Bunny Bottoms

Have you started decorating for Easter? How about some bunnies...... have your child sit down on a long piece of paper and trace their legs and bottom. Their legs are the ears. Now have your child decorate their bunny.

Learning through Easter

My little monkey trying to make her egg matches

These are just a few ideas to do with the kiddos around Easter time.
*Egg match up. Use the plastic easter eggs to match colors. You can also use them to match lower and upper case letters. Put an upper case on one and the lower case on the other. This works with number matching as well. Add dots to one side and the number to the other.
*Bring out the easter grass. Use this in a a large container and hide things in it. Maybe hide objects and as the child pulls it out have them tell you the letter, shape, number, or animal depending on the child's age.
*Use coffee filters(cut into an egg shape) and color with markers. When they are finished coloring have them spray on some water and watch the colors fade together.
*Egg hunt...Use the plastic eggs and hide them around the house. Have your child find certian color eggs.
I am sure you can come up with many more. Feel free to share! Hopefully these will help you kick off a fun Easter season!

Golden Thoughts

On Saint Patricks day have your child share their golden thoughts. Write them on a piece of gold (a yellow circle of construction paper). You could do this yearly and add it to your scrapbook page or journal.
Enjoy!

Leprechaun visit

Have the leprechaun visit your house early morning on Saint Patricks day. He may turn the toliet water green, or maybe he turns the milk green. You could also have him leave several shamrocks around the house for the kids to find. Maybe Mister Leprechaun will find some green things himself as well. Maybe he will take a few green things you have laying around the house. What is your mr Leprechaun going to do?
Enjoy!

Everything green

Saint Patricks day is an Irish holiday that celebrates the patron saint of Ireland. Don't ask me what all that means, but I do have some fun ideas to celebrate luck and the color green.
Start out your day with green breakfast. Green pancakes (just add green food coloring), kiwi fruit, or just some simple lucky charms!
other green foods for the rest of the day: lime jello, toast with green food coloring (to make a face), mint choc icecream, or anything else that is green!



keep following for some more Saint patrick ideas!

Valentine's day cupcakes

Every year we make V-day cupcakes. We simply put a rolled up piece of tin foil between the muffin tin and the pan. Making hearts. Simply decorate with lots of sprinkles and love and hand them out to some of your own Valentines!

Valentine's day heart hunt

Before your children wake up on V-day morning hide several hearts numbered 1-10 around the house for your children to find. On the opposite side of the number write a a couple words on each heart to 1 corinthians 13:4 When they find all their hearts put them together to read a verse.

a hug (kid craft)

This is a great way to get ready for Valentine's day. Trace your child's hands or do a handprint with red paint. Cut out the hands and connect them with ribbon. On one of the hands write " a hug for ......." (simple wrap the ribbon around your shoulders).

Fun Valentine's to give

Are you starting to think about Valentine's day! We are too. I posted a few fun Valentines you can make and give away! enjoy!
Here are a few fun Valentines to give away.



Use your child's hand print to make a card. Inside the card write: Hands down your the best or we give you a hand, thanks for the helping hand, or thanks for holding my hand.



Use an old puzzle to create a "your my missing piece" special pin for grandma or a special friend. Click here to get details. You could also have your child paint several old puzzle pieces and glue them to a frame on the pieces write " I love you to pieces".


If you would prefer you can print your own here



Use candy then fun phrases with ribbon: sucker....I am stuck on you







"Thumb-body loves you" art...have your child dip their finger in ink pads and make various stamps on a card..make the prints into faces. We've done this a lot in the past. To make it extra special send it in the mail.

Family time

Family time can be hard to find between work and school. Dan has every Wednesday off and we try to dedicate that to family time. A friend of ours uses every Friday night as family night. There are many things that can make this time unique, but mainly it is about being together. Playing games, walking, baking, doing good deeds, watching a movie, etc. This is a good time to capture memories.

The biggest challenge is to take advantage of everyday moments. This is really challenging for most of us, but I read this great post and thought I should share. Click here to read for yourself.

Now go be with your children!

Everyday traditions

Some traditions revolve around the holidays, but some of my favorites are the things you do everyday. The things that are more routine than traditions. Things like;
books before bed, blessings before the day (we are working on really adapting this to our bedtime routine, each night we pray a blessing over our children), breakfast verse of the day, horse ride to bed, and so much more. Do you have any favorite daily tradition?