Candy Corn Craft

Pinspiration:  31 Days of October Crafts

This one was more fun to prep than to create, but the kids had a great time.  Ripping the paper was the best activity for my creative 2 year old.  Letting the kids prep the craft was the best idea.  This is definitely a craft to keep kids busy while you cook.  As you can see, the gluing of the paper pieces was not very exciting for my dd.

Until Next Time, 

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Ghost Craft

Pinspiration:  31 Days of Halloween

Halloween is my second favorite holiday to decorate for.  However, since our house is under construction, I don't feel very motivated to decorate.  The kiddos had a different idea.  For the first time, both kids were excited for Halloween.  (I mean who wouldn't be excited to dress up as Batman or Elsa?)

I decided to finally put some of my pins to good use and we spend the entire week making Halloween themed crafts.  This also calmed the kiddos down, they were so excited they literally couldn't control themselves.  Do check out the pin that inspired this project.  She has several great ideas, one being the chocolate bones that we made for our Halloween Party.  This one did not take as long as others we had done this week, but I think they turned out the best.  I even had to join in on this project.

Sorry for the sideways image.  I'm still learning how to drive this blog.

Until Next Time,
Happy Halloween!

Kids Halloween Party

Pinspriation:  Halloween Party Board

In a last minute decision, we decided that despite our renovations, we wanted to throw a Halloween Party.  How awesome was it that Halloween fell on a Saturday?!?  To make things better, we had perfect weather!  This party was so much fun to host, we have decided to make this a tradition.

Here's what we ended up doing:

Food

The possibilities for one bag of Oreo is AMAZING!

Cutting the cheese (Haha, OK, are we ready to move on?) was very easy.  My husband suggested that I stack a few pieces of cheese then cut with the cookie cutters.  This worked very well.

This added the perfect Halloween touch to our chili bar.

The kids had these for breakfast.  I could not find fake teeth, but candy corn worked pretty well.

The kids at the party LOVED these mummy hot dogs.

This was so simple and tasted great!  Kids and adults loved the almond bark covered bones. (bones made with two mini marshmallows and a pretzel stick)

Cookie decorating station.  I thought I got a close up of the witches brooms (string cheese on a pretzel stick), but I did not.  However, I will be making them again next year so be sure to stop back after next Halloween.

We also have a bowl of candy corn and candy pumpkins for a little STEM building activity with toothpicks, but no one wanted to partake.

The pumpkin dip was amazing!  I will be making it again for Thanksgiving.

Of course the kiddos loved the dirt and worms.

Activities

I made a pumpkin bowling station from painted cans, but I must have forgotten to take a picture.  It was adorable, but not a fan favorite.

I have to admit, I had my doubts about how well the spider races would work, but they worked very well!  This was a favorite for the preschool aged boys.

All of the kids enjoyed the pumpkin decorating station.  We got these fabulous tiny pumpkins from Walmart.  I put out markers and stickers.  We currently have these pumpkins decorating our ever changing front garden.  Currently it is the "Pumpkin Patch Garden".  Keep reading to see our "Spooky Garden" or as Lainey calls it, our "Pookie Garden".

My kids enjoyed this activity before the party, but it was not a huge hit with our guests.

I put out Play Dough and some eyes, pompoms, and fuzzy sticks to make monsters.

All of the kids enjoyed our spooky obstacle course.  We put a 2x4 down for a balance beam through spider alley, and hung bats and ghosts in our ball pit/indoor maze.  I also threw a few spiders in the ball pit as well.  The shrieks and giggles that came out of the maze was my favorite part of this activity.

This was another activity that did not get much use during the party.  However, we enjoyed playing tic-tac-toe afterwards and the next day.  My favorite part of this activity is that it did not have to come down with the Halloween decorations.  We just replaced the pieces with two different colored pumpkin scatters and voila, we have a Thanksgiving themed tic-tac-toe board.

Decor

We tried the spooky glowing eyes.  This did not work as well as the pin suggests.  Perhaps the front of our house was too well lit for the trick-or-treaters, or our glow sticks were not bright enough.  I will give it another shot next year and give it up if it is another flop.

We transformed the Music Garden into a Spooky Garden for the Trick-or-Treaters.  The kids LOVED decorating.  Since we were out collecting candy during the Trick-or-Treat hours, we left our candy/toy/dog treat bowls on the metal bucket.

Our front porch with blue pumpkin, to indicate we had non-edible treats for our friends with food allergies, and milk jug ghosts.  Again, I think we will need stronger glow sticks, stragegic placement in a dark area of the yard, or a darker front porch to give the full effect.

Our pumpkin carved from a stencil.

These mice on the steps got the most decoration compliments from our guests, old and young.

Until next time, 

Happy Halloween!

Static Electricity

Pinspiration:  STEM Bored Jar

I've pinned this one before, but we have since used more ideas from this post.  The author claims to have 48 STEM activities to prepare in 5 minutes or less.  This is true... as long as you have the materials on hand.  Most of the items can be found on hand, if you are remotely crafty, but really, you need to plan ahead if you want to be able to make good on any activity they pull out of the jar.

The kids really enjoyed putting the butterfly together, and using the balloon to make him fly.  (It did work!) However, this activity only occupied my kiddos for about 2 minutes.  If you really want to give your kids something to occupy their time with a rich learning activity while you cook dinner, you will need to find a different activity.

Happy STEAMing!

Pipe (Cleaner) Dreams

Pinspiration:  33 Cheep but Brilliant Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy

Who remembers that Gameboy Game?  No one?  Ok then, let's get to the main event.

This pin actually has a lot of easy to set up activities.  Don't be surprised if you see this one again.

I don't know about you, but my kids need my attention the most while I am cooking dinner.  Luckily, I have all the needed materials on hand, pipe cleaners and a colander.  Over the last two days, this has kept Lainey busy for hours.  Jake has even joined in the fun creating "patches" that are actually quite cool!

Lainey's Design

Jake's Design

What About that Base?

Pinspiration:  Building Block Fun

Jake has become quite the master builder (Who out there in blogville has seen The Lego Movie?).  He plays with Legos ALL DAY!  When he is not playing with Legos, he's talking about his next "structure".

Lainey has also become quite interested in Legos lately as well, which is awesome and terrible at the same time.  Jake is a great sharer, but Lainey can be a tornado around Lego creations.  Luckily, I found a great deal on a Lego Education Brick Set on Amazon and, voila!  No more arguments.  Each child has his/her own set of Legos and everyone is happy, right?  Not exactly, the Lego set we purchased did not come with Lego men...  No worries, I found another great deal on Lego men on Amazon. (Who doesn't love Amazon?) Three days later, we had 30 brand new Lego men.  No child needs to be given that many Lego men, and can you imagine the tears we would get if one child got 30 new toys while the other got... peace, quiet, the end of Lego destruction?

So, when I found this pin, I had to give it a shot.  We decided that each time we play the game each kiddo can choose a new Lego man as their game piece, and keep him.

The site has a link to the free downloadable game board.  I taped ours to a piece of cardboard in hopes that we can keep it longer.  I will, however, be making a slight adjustment.  The pin and paperclip spinner really does not keep well.  I have an unused clear spinner in some old school things that we will use in future game sessions.

The game was pretty fun (considering we were playing with a 2 year old who refuses to learn how to count 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 7, 8, 7, 8...).  However, if you are playing with youngsters, the game board is a bit long.  We changed the rules so that when anyone reached the finish, we would all stop and compare stacks.  This lead to an awesome discussion on measurement and comparisons.  Jake also learned to read two new words, take and lose.

I would also caution all gamers that the stacks can get quite tall and unstable and fall over constantly. (Playing with an uncoordinated 2 year old didn't help much either.)  We moved our stacks off to the side of the board and chose a different Lego piece to use as our chip on the game board.  Another option would be to build the towers off to the side and use the Lego men as your game pieces, but my kiddos loved seeing how high their little man was.

With those few adjustments, I would recommend this game for all of young master builders out there.

So Sweet, but don't forget the salt and pepper...

Pinspiration:  Easy Balsamic Chicken Skewers

So, the thing I love about Pinterest is that you can find a recipe for just about anything you have in your house.  The down side... it's not always a great recipe (despite the descriptions that claim you just found the "best recipe ever" or "my family begs me to make this").

I can promise you that this is not that recipe.  Was it good?  Yes.  Was it awesome and the kids can't wait to devour it again? No.

Here's the recipe.  Don't forget the salt and pepper.  I didn't add it at first and the chicken was kind of bland.  So there you go.  It's an easy, edible recipe for a busy night.

YIELD: 4-6 SERVINGS

EASY BALSAMIC CHICKEN SKEWERS

All you need are 5 ingredients (including salt and pepper!) to make these delicious easy balsamic chicken skewers. And be sure to check out our incredible giveaway at the bottom of the page.

PREP: 10 MINS COOK: 30 MINS TOTAL: 40 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups DeLallo balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• wooden or metal skewers

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together balsamic vinegar and honey until combined to form your marinade. Add the marinade and chicken pieces to a large ziplock bag or mixing bowl, and toss until combined. Seal/cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least 10 minutes, or up to 8 hours. Also, if you are using wooden skewers, set them to soak in a pan of water for at least 10 minutes so that they do not burn.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, heat a grill to medium-high heat. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, reserving the marinade for later, and thread chicken onto skewers. Season the skewers generously with salt and pepper. Place on a grill that has been lightly greased with cooking spray. Cook the chicken skewers for 3-4 minutes per side, turning once, until the chicken is no longer pink inside and cooked through. Remove chicken skewers from grill and place on a serving plate.

Meanwhile or after, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced by half and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (The glaze will thicken even more as it cools.) Remove from heat, and brush the glaze onto the skewers until they are all evenly coated. Serve warm.

For a shortcut, you can also marinate the chicken in 1/2 cup of DeLallo's pre-made balsamic glaze. Then once the chicken has been grilled, brush (a separate) 1/2 cup of balsamic glaze onto the cooked chicken skewers.

DIFFICULTY: EASY CATEGORY: QUICK

Happy Cooking!

Learning Shapes and Numbers

Pinspiration:  Six Shape Activities the Involve Movement

I'll keep this short and sweet.  As a math teacher/lover, I am always pinning fun activities to get my kids loving math as well.  Here is an easy one that my kiddos love.  This TBT is dedicated to a great activity I started 8 months ago that the kids still beg for.

Using tape, outline various shapes (I also did numbers) on the floor and make a card for each shape.  Have the kids pick a card and throw a bean bag on the shape.  I also like the idea of having the kids outline by driving a car over it or hopping/running/sliding/etc... to the shape matching the card they draw.

I know, I know, that tape will destroy my floor.  I don't really care, they are about to be redone.

Happy Playing!

No More Packing Woes

Pinspiration:  Traveling with Children

OK, so, we just got back from spring break yesterday.  We began our journey traveling to Valdosta, GA (no the people there are NOT like the Hot GRITS chicks) to visit with old friends from our military days (we miss them so much... the friend AND the military days).  Then continued south to spend 3 days in Winter Haven, FL.  We spent 2 days at LEGO Land and I HIGHLY recommend it for little ones (2-12yrs), dare I say it's better than Disney?  Definitely, for little ones.

For the past 3 years, we have spent out spring break visiting GA pals and then spending a few days in FL.  Packing for the multiple places (and temperatures) can be challenging and quickly becomes disorganized.

Until I found this little gem. Hello!!  Why didn't I think of this?  It has become a lifesaver.  My husband even requested that I institute the "daily outfit bag" on a day to day basis, since he is so awesome and gets the kiddos ready for me every morning before work.  I make bags of clothes (including hair pieces,socks, and underwear) for the week and, voila, my kids don't look like giant messes going to the babysitter.

Back to vacation.  This year, I made a suitcase for each stop along the way.  This also helped eliminate clutter and disorganization.  Plus we didn't have to lug in huge suitcases everywhere we went.  Just one small roller bag and our toiletry bag, which included staples we needed at each place.  Talk about eliminating chaos... sorta.  We were at LEGO Land after all.

Happy Travels!

Indoor Fish Pond

Pinspiration:  Make an Indoor Frog Pond

I was invited to go to the Title 1 Conference in Seattle, Washington a few years back.  The sessions were awesome, but the expo was even better!

While I walked around soaking in awesome ideas and signing up to win the awesome products, I found the Learning Connections booth. The owner, Judy Guenzel, has taken classic children's books and created activity packs to go along with them.  She sells these packs for around $15 each and they come with everything you need to give your child a rich literary experience that often connects to other subjects. She also happens to be such a sweet lady, I talked to her for about 45 minutes and it was not all about business!

I couldn't pass up the Swimmy pack.  I mean, it was math related.  The activities for this books had small sea creatures which could be sorted and counted in many ways.  I love how each activity pack comes with very clear instructions on how to manipulatives as well as questions you can ask.

Anyway, my son fell in love with the little sea creatures and they became the ONLY toys he would play with for a few months.

Around the same time, my father-in-law, who loves geology, gave Jake his first box of minerals, another one of his favorite toys at the time.

Scrolling through Pinterest one day, I happened to stumble upon this pin and it could not have come at a more perfect time.  I made a few felt leaves, and we went on a nature hike to pick up some cool sticks and stones to embellish our indoor pond.

Here is our version of the indoor fishpond.  I love when pins do not need to be followed to a tee and still be perfect for you.

This project seriously took 5 minutes to complete and inspired the theme for Jake's 2nd birthday party.  Check it out!

Happy Fishin'!

Days of Parties Past 3rd Birthday Cars Party and 2nd Birthday Under the Sea Party

Pinspiration:  Jake's 3rd Birthday Party Board

Before I begin with the party, I have to give a quick shout out to this pinspiring idea.  We've started the tradition a few years back to have balloons outside the kiddos doors on the morning of their birthdays.  It is so much fun to watch their little faces light up when they see the balloons.  Last year, Jake played with his balloons for over a week.  He even took baths with them.  I also got the idea to interview Jake each  year on his birthday, starting at 3.  The questions from this pin are perfect and will grow with him. We audio recorded him answering the questions because his voice is so sweet and I could not do his responses justice on paper, they were too cute!

Like every 3 year old boy, Jake LOVES the movie Cars (and Cars 2 of course).  So, I got to pinning and WOW did I find some awesome ideas!  I'll make this post short and sweet because there are LOTS of pictures to caption.  I'm not really into organized activities at parties.  I like to provide creative things for kids to do as they choose then sit back and enjoy the fun.  It also gives me more time to socialize with guests.  Don't you hate it when you go to a party and the host is too busy to chat?  I mean, why have a party if you can't have any fun, right?

Here's this week's TBT dedicated to my favorite almost 4 year old (tomorrow is the big day!).

While the hubby was away for his reserve duty, I spent my evenings (my kids go to bed at 7pm which gave me lots of time) making these.  It was a lot of work, but it was totally worth it.  The kids had a blast with this at the party.

My wonderful sister offered her house for the party (since we live so far out of town and our temporary house was so tiny). 

Party Room Set-Up

Pre-Party:

 So we drove in the night before (hiding all the party supplies) and surprised Jake the morning of his party with a Cars fun land.  

His excitement was infectious!  Even I had to get in on the action!

We also got a piece of plywood and sketched McQueen (using proportions to make him exactly like his toy... take that disbelieving math students, you do use proportions in real life!).

Activities:

My super handy hubby made this Kiddy Car Wash Sprinkler (also a Pinspired idea, check out my post here) for the kids to run the box cars through.

Even though he is a super cool high school student, my nephew even joined the action and had a great time running around dressed as a car with Jake.

Bean bag toss game... not as big a hit, but the kids still played with this.

Even if they didn't play with it the way it was intended.

Pit Stop, and you are part of the crew.  The second favorite activity.

Go fishing with Matter.  The Matter photos we glued onto cardboard and had a magnet attached to a piece of twine that could pick up the car parts.  I bought half a yard of cars fabric and cut out a few cars, sewed a blue felt piece to the back with a washer and piece of cardboard in between.  It's super easy, and I am NOT a seamstress.

Through the entire party, we had Cars, then Cars 2 playing in the background.  

Jake was so excited about his McQueen, he didn't even take him off to watch the movie!

How adorable is this? And how awesome is my nephew?!?!  My kids are so lucky have have such great cousins.

For the Babies

Food:

Treat table:

Stoplight Fruit Skewers

How cool is my sister-in-law?!?  She made the adorable stoplight brownies!

Motor Oil

Organic Fuel

Anti-Freeze (Blue Hawaiian Punch)

I guess we didn't get pictures of the food table.  It had a sign with Flo that said Flo's Cafe.  We served pizza, salad, and veggie dip sticks in a small cup of ranch dressing.

More Random Themed Fun:

Party Hats - Purchased online (don't remember where, but Google it, they will pop right up)

 When you are entertaining kids, you need to have a sanitation station. 

I have to give credit to me awesomely talented sister for doing this free hand to welcome everyone to the party.

The hubby and I wore shirts my sister made that said "Pit Crew".  Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of that though. Isn't is amazing how having kids makes you forget to take selfies?  

Everyone got a thank you note signed by Jake that said:  "Thank you for making Jake's birthday happier than a tornado in a trailer park!" ~Matter (Cars)

The kids got goodie bags with a toy car from the dollar store, Cars stickers from Walmart, crayons, and a coloring book that was printed from one of my pins.  Check out my board.  Please share your awesome ideas in the comments!

Jake's 2nd Birthday - Under the Sea Theme at the Jump Yard in North Royalton, OH

Pinspiration:  Indoor Fish Pond  

As I mentioned in the Indoor Fish Pond post, my son LOVED all things of the sea.  We read Swimmy daily and his favorite toys were the sea creatures that came along with the book that I purchased from Learning Connections.  Being out of town and not having a big enough house to entertain, once again, we had to travel to Cleveland for Jake's birthday.  

This year, we tried to simplify by taking the party to the Jump Yard.  It was a blast!  The kids loved it, I got to decorate the tables with sea creatures, and best of all, no clean-up!  It still made me sad and I more than make up for my withdraw for his third birthday as you read above.  

But, I did want to share the few little things I did do to make this party themed and special.  The tables were decorated with all of our fish toys and small fish bowls that were used at my sister's wedding a few months earlier.  They had Jake's sea creatures in them along with a few small koosh balls.  Each kid got a goodie bag with a few koosh balls, plastic sea creatures, and an adorable sea creature puzzle that I found at the dollar store (3 for a dollar!).  

I really got in to the cake this year, mostly because it was the only thing I could bring to the Jump Yard.  So, here is a picture of the cake.  

Jelly beans for "candy colored rocks" from Swimmy of course, sweet goldfish, sour octopus, green Twizlers Pull and Peels for seaweed, and crushed graham crackers for sand.  I also took cuties and stuck a toothpick with a sail on it for boats.

We also had cupcakes.  Jake of course would only eat the candy on top.

I highly recommend an inflatables place for kids birthday parties.

Let's hear it for my awesome nephew again!

 And one of my awesome nieces who also checked her pre-teen card at the door to have fun with my little guy.

It really was a great day for him.

 Happy party planning!