Pet Rocks!

Ari and I found some flat, smooth rocks on one of our walks the other day. I thought they would be perfect for pet rocks! So after cleaning and drying them, we painted them white. Then I used nail polish to paint the rocks. I used nail polish instead of paint because I wanted them to be a little garden accent to use outdooors. Nailk polish is waterproof, so it works really good! After they dried, I used a hot glue gun to glue on the googly eyes. While I was doing all this, Ari was decorating her own rocks with regular paint. We had fun creating our rock pals together!!!

PB&J Pops!

The weather is warming up! Which means it's time for snacks that will cool everyone down after the heat! This is one of my new favorites, I enjoy them just as much as my kids do! And they are easy to make! Start by adding fresh strawberries, sugar to taste, and a splash of water to a blender and puree until smooth. Pour the mixture into your popcicle containters, but only halfway. Put them in the freezer. About an hour later, puree some peanut butter, sugar to taste, and milk in the blender until smooth. Pour the mixture into the remaining space in the popcicle containers. Continue freezing until completely frozen. You may need to run the containers under hot water before attempting to remove them, because the first few times I made these, I only pulled the sticks out, and not the popcicle! Enjoy!



Become an Author!

You don't have to be a professional to write bedtime stories for your little ones! We do these all the time! My daughter will give me ideas about what she wants to read about and I will create a story for her. I may not be the best artists either, but the kids deffinately don't mind! Our latest book is about a bird named Cosmo who is too round to fly. He tries and tries, but just can't do it! It ends with Cosmo learning that although he can't fly like all the other birds, that he is special and unique, and he's good at other things!



Game Night!

It's so great every once in a while to turn off the TV and just play games together! You can invite friends over, or keep the traditions for just your family. Either way, your kids will remember how much fun their childhood was when they are grown up because of memories like these! For preschoolers, I would suggest fun, colorful games with easy rules. We use Gone Fishing, Candyland, and activity books.



Family Restaurant!

I actually work in a restaurant. So I thought it would be fun to put on our own restaurant for the night right here at home! We assign people to be the cooks, servers, and customers. We create a menu (with only a couple options for food and a couple options for drinks). The menu and cooking are fun! We like to make silly food that kids will love! Our favorites are Mac n cheese stuffed grilled cheese sandwiches and spaghetti tacos (pictured below).



Funny Family Photo!

We try to take a perfect family photo, and we beat ourselves up when they don't turn out like we expect. Well this craft is a goofy way to cover up the photo flaws! Or just to get a smile out of your little ones! I just used whatever craft supplies I had on hand to decorate our picture. The best part is you can't really mess this craft up! It's fool-proof!



Grassy Hair Pals!

This craft teaches kids that if you care for your garden, it will grow and flourish! They will love seeing how tall the grass grows each day! And they will think of the funny faces on the eggs as their buddies! All you need is eggs, pens, soil, and cat grass. If you take a knife and carefuly crack the egg all the way around the top, it should come right off and not crack the rest of the egg. Dump out the insides of the egg (preferably into a pan and make some breakfast out of it!) Rinse out the inside of the egg and let it dry. Next, draw your faces on the eggs. Fill halfway with soil. Add about 8 grass seeds, then fill the rest of the egg shell with soil. Don't forget to add sunshine and water! Your pals should sprout hair within a few days!



Spa Day!

This is one of my daughter's favorite theme days that we have! And I wont lie... I love it too! We kick the boys out and have a fun girls night in! We make our own thin crust pizzas, paint our nails, put on face masks, soak our feet in a tea footbath, and do yoga! This is a great way to relax, especially after a long day at work/ school!

FYI: If you want to make your own thin crust pizza, just gather up a large whole wheat tortilla wrap, add marinara, add cheese, add basil, and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes!



Bake cookies or cupcakes!

I can remember thinking baking was one of the funnest activities I did as a child! Licking the spoon, looking through the oven window to see if they were done yet... And of course eating the yummy treats afterward! I'm so thrilled to be able to share these traditions with my kids now! I keep it simple by just buying the boxes of mix at the store. I let the kids take turns stirring the ingredients in the bowl. I take care of the baking, or course! But when the cookies or cupcakes are done, I let the kids pile on the frosting and sprinkles! This stimulates creativity! And posative feedback will increase confidence!



Fashion Show!

Having a little girl is so fun! My daughter, Ariana, love playing dress up and wearing jewlery and putting on makeup! And what little girl wouldn't love playing dress up!? Playing a game like dress up can make your daughter feel confident and can also create a wonderful bonding experience! You can bond even better if you play dress up with her! Yes, you heard that right! Pull out your fanciest dress or even dress up in daddy's clothes (tie and all!) and act goofy with your daughter!