It's no secret we love DIY play dough, slime, and other sensory activities around here. Hands-on play not only leads to increased creativity and fine-motor development (which is important for things like writing), it's also a fabulous boredom buster. Play dough and sensory boxes are some of our go-to activities when the weather is bad or mom needs some time to pay bills, do laundry, etc. Recently the folks over at eHow's Mom Channel asked me to roundup some of my favorite playtime posts … [Read more...]
Decorating With Succulents
Ever since we moved into our new home, I've had an 'outdoors in' approach to decorating. We love our backyard and enjoy the large windows that seem to bring nature into every room. This spring, I started really playing up this aspect by adding more and more houseplants to our formal living room. Easy to care for, succulents have played a prominent role in my decorating-with-nature strategy. I don't have the best track record with keeping indoor plants alive, but I have found that most … [Read more...]
Build a “Play Dough Tool Kit”
Top Image Credit (cropped, text and other photos added below): © Nicola | 04.09.11 | CC by 2.0 My son LOVES play dough. I mean, really. It's almost an obsession. And you know what? I don't blame him. I remember loving play dough as a kid, myself. There's just something magical about it. It's a blank slate of 3D creativity. Besides, I can't think of a better obsession for a pre-schooler. We all know that children (and adults, for that matter) learn best when their senses are engaged. Think … [Read more...]
Happy Family Habit #12: Spend One-on-One Time with Each Child
You've heard it said that the days are long but the years are short. If you are a mom, you've experienced this to be true. When the kids are little, you spend your days constantly feeding, changing, wiping, fixing, answering and the list goes on. Raising kids takes a LOT of work! But, they are growing up before our eyes and with each passing year those little tasks we're needed for diminishes. For those of you that don't know, I'm a mom of two boys (13 and 11) and a nine year old girl. I … [Read more...]
Make it: Mother’s Day Trinket Dish
I don't know about you, but my baubles always end up all over the place. Probably because I am constantly trying to keep up with a toddler and an 8 month-old. But even on my dresser, where most of my jewelry accumulates, I have no place to collect it all the stray pieces. Enter: the Trinket Dish. I saw something similar at Anthropologie and thought it would make the perfect Mother's Day gift (I know I'd want one). Plus, it's so easy to make. First I scoured our local dollar store for … [Read more...]
Chalkboard Flower Pots for Mom, Teacher, or Your Own Windowsill
It's Teacher Appreciation week next week - do you have something special picked out for the educators in your kids' lives? If not we've totally got you covered with an easy DIY you can use to appreciate a teacher, for Mother's Day, or even as a hostess thank-you gift. Here's Janssen with the full details... One of the things that makes me happiest in the spring is live plants. They look so vibrant and remind me that winter really is winding down. Whether you're looking for a simple Mother's … [Read more...]
Helping Our Girls Find Positive Role Models
Happy "Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work" Day! I don't know about you guys, but I have vivid memories of participating in this as a kid - back when it was just "Take Your Daughter to Work" Day. It always got the wheels in my brain turning - asking myself who did I look up to, who and what did I eventually want to be? So I thought today would be the perfect day to share with you an article I wrote for eHow on finding positive female role models for our girls. I'd love it if you'd check it … [Read more...]
Tips & 4 Recipes to Finally Stop Feeling So Tired!
You may remember that I was in a car accident about a month before giving birth. That's left me with some residual back pain and orders not to exercise for a few weeks - which means that I'm relying solely on nutrition to help keep my energy levels up despite many feeding-filled, sleepless nights. So guess who I'm turning to for help. My go-to nutritionists at Prescribe Nutrition, of course. They've got tons of useful stuff to share with us today that I hope will help you too! Tired. Who’s … [Read more...]
Giveaway! BISSELL Symphony (TM) All-In-One Vacuum and Steam Mop
Who wants to win a Bissell Symphony All-in-One Vacuum and Steam Mop - raise your hand. I have wanted a combo steam mop and vacuum for longer than I can remember. Actually, scratch that, for pretty much exactly as long as I've had children. Let's face it, between food messes, art messes, and stomping in mud and dirt from outside, kids are rough on floors. Which is why I was so excited when our latests sponsor, Bissell, offered up a couple of these steam mop vacuums to me and our … [Read more...]
DIY Mother’s Day Watercolor Card and Vintage Glassware Set
Mother's Day is just a little over 3 weeks away, which means that if you're looking to go handmade then now is the time to get planning. Here are two of my favorite DIY projects from last year, both of which I put together for eHow's Mom Channel: Watercolor Mother's Day Cards Stenciled Vintage Glassware Set Both activities are perfectly suited for the kids to help, or for you to tackle on your own once they're in bed - enjoy! P.S. Did you know that facebook has recently … [Read more...]
A Rainbow of Healthy Homemade Gummy Snacks
Most of us busy parents are on the look out for new ways to squeeze extra nutrition into our growing kids. Around here, we love using our juicer and enjoying fresh fruit and veggie juice, but it's not really something you can grab-and-go (well you can.. but not without cleaning out a clogged-up juicer later on in the day). Fruit and veggie gummies are our latest solution for getting good nutrition in small, portable doses. Not only are the fruits and veggies filled with vitamins, minerals … [Read more...]
Ultimate Play Dough Play Resources – All in One Spot
Image Credit (cropped & text added): © Chris Parfitt | 05.11.08 | CC by 2.0 You know we can't get enough of play dough play around here. Today Amanda of Not Just Cute is back with everything we need to maximize the kids' interest in play dough play as well as ideas on how to maximize the learning benefits of this fabulous art material. Read on for the ultimate round-up of play dough recipes and activities! Play dough is a staple of childhood. Like story time and hide and seek, it's an … [Read more...]
Spring Cleaning: Free 4-Week Printable Plan
Now that it's March, we're definitely due a Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life spring cleaning post... have you gotten started yet? Yeah, me neither. But I'm giving myself some grace and saying there's still time! In that spirit, Kristin has rounded up for us some of the best FREE spring cleaning checklists around to help get you started. And, as a special bonus, there's a free 4-week spring cleaning calendar at the end of this post. If there's anyone that can inspire us to Spring Clean, … [Read more...]
Top 10 Cleaning Tricks for Families with New Babies
Here's something fun - MPMK is moonlighting over on The Home Depot's site, The Apron Blog. They recently asked us to guest post on some of our favorite tricks for keeping things fresh and clean with a new baby at home - a topic that's right up my alley these days! This DIY kids' cleaning station makes it fun for older siblings to help out and I'm totally in love with both the form and function of this clever space. In fact, all 10 of the ideas our home-life and playtime contributor, … [Read more...]
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