Entries Tagged as 'Kids'

Panda Themed Birthday Party

1

03.2.16

Panda Party

Does anyone else have a panda lover in their house? My youngest has been crazy obsessed lately! He requested a Panda-themed birthday party this year, and since he’s not going to be cool with themed parties for much longer you can believe that I was going to run with this! So, with a little help from a perfectly timed release of the Kung Fu Panda 3 movie and some jelly beans, I was able to pull it off.

I am not at all gifted with baking skills, so I always try to keep things pretty simple. I searched Pinterest for inspiration, and found lots of panda faces made of chocolate chips or fondant icing (heck no!). Basic icing and some carefully placed jelly beans work for me! I love how the curve of the jelly beans totally mimics panda eyes and ears! How has that idea not made it’s way to Pinterest already! You’re welcome people!

And, of course, what birthday party is complete without an invitation? This little heart-nosed panda invitation is now listed in the shop here so you can put together your own panda party!

Cleaning up with ChoreMonster

6

07.11.13

Things have been changing around our house lately… it’s getting tidy! Yes, my kids are doing chores. But that isn’t new. What’s new is that they are excited about it! We’ve been using ChoreMonster for a month or so now, and since it’s working I thought I’d share it with you! To get started we created a list of chores and set some rewards, and the kids are earning points towards their goals with each chore. The real motivator is trying to win the virtual monsters, which are a huge hit with my two monsters! Unless of course our oldest wins a monster and our younger one doesn’t… but then that teaches an important lesson too, doesn’t it. 😉

I’ve tried sticker charts before, and they have never worked for us. We all got bored of them pretty quick. But I’m pretty happy to see that my kids are the ones reminding me about chores most days now. I don’t have to keep them accountable anymore, they are self-motivated! Finally! If you feel like trying it out with your family, you can use this link to get ONE MONTH FREE membership. Let me know what you think if you do!

I only accept brand opportunities to write about things I love and would normally buy anyway.
I received an opportunity through Canopi to partner with ChoreMonster.

Super Spy Party Time

20

29.1.13

We celebrated a very special little boy this weekend! Our baby turned 6! If you follow along then you’ve already seen all the prep and the invitation. This post is about all the fun and games that ensued once the kids showed up! Which, of course, is what it’s all about! It’s definitely not about my mad cake decorating skills! Ha! Any cake professionals out there, please avert your eyes. As you can see I opted to take the same approach as I did on the last cake I made, cutting shapes out of wax paper and shaking some icing sugar over top to make a design that matches the party theme. Dirt simple. No shame. At the end of the day the cake tasted just as good.

When the children arrived they received their super spy attire, consisting of a peel-and-stick mustache and a black hat. To make sure no imposters had made it through the door they were all asked to head straight to the table for fingerprinting… which they all thought was pretty cool. Then they played a game of “don’t let the bomb touch the floor or it will explode” (aka, work together to keep the black balloon in the air). It really doesn’t take much to get a group of six year old boys excited. The party favourite was an idea that is making its rounds on Pinterest, the “laser beam” obstacle course (aka, red neon twine). The boys were so excited to try and make it up the staircase without touching the laser beams.

I think that covers the highlights! Older brother has announced that he liked this party so much that he wants a complete redo for his birthday in the Fall. Sounds good to me!

Have a good week!

Birthday Weekend

7

24.9.12

What a weekend! It’s hard to believe, but our oldest turned eight! Baking is not my thing, but I needed a gluten free cake and had the mix on hand, so I thought I’d give it a shot this year. I used his love for baseball as the starting point for the cake decorating… just added some icing sugar and m&m’s! And, do you notice that the two balls are touching so that it creates a subtle 8 shape?!! Yeah, maybe it’s not super obvious, but I love that it’s there.

The take home gifts this year were water guns, because we’ve had such great weather this September! I handed one out to everyone as they walked in the door, and then sent them to the backyard for “target practice”, which consisted of two saw horses and a 2×4 lined with empty containers. This was a HUGE hit! If you’re looking for game ideas for older boys, I highly recommend this!

I hope you had a good weekend too! What did you get up to?

Robot Themed Party

9

24.8.12

I have to share some pictures of the adorable robot-themed birthday party we went to last weekend. Our fabulous neighbors are responsible for all of this cool stuff. So, if you’re trying to find some ideas for a child’s party, read on!

After that amazing cake, I think my favorite part was the giant robot built for a game of toss. The colored circles are taped onto the back of the plywood robot frame so that they break when the ball hits the center. Pretty great idea!

All the kids had a blast creating their own robots with the help of the adults. All you need is some empty tin cans and supplies from the dollar store. And magnets came in handy to stick on the bolts.

And no party is complete without a pinata, right?! This homemade pinata was amazing! I don’t know why I didn’t think to move the sunscreen out of the way for the shot. Ha!

My oldest son’s birthday is coming up next month, and this has inspired me to get going on the planning for it! But first I need to focus on the weekend ahead… so many exciting plans! Have a great weekend!

Lego + Water

6

23.7.12

It all started when Ben wanted to play Lego inside, and Cole, outside. I broke the stalemate by introducing a water hose. Lego reached a new level of fun!

If you spray the hose just right it creates some major whirlpool action! The boys had a blast watching their figures whipping around, and taking turns throwing in extra figures. When the tub filled up I watered the plants to empty the tub, and the fun started all over again. By the end of it, everyone was wet, and happy!

I hope you had a fabulous weekend enjoying some summer fun!

Boredom Busters: Banana Tattoos

21

04.7.12

INSTRUCTIONS:

Trace the banana shape onto paper.
Draw something within that shape.
Cut out the shape and tape it onto the banana.
Use a pin, or thumb tack, to poke the skin of the banana.
Wait. The image will slowly appear, kind of like a Polaroid image.

With the constant rain here on the west coast, I’ve been searching for ideas to keep the kids occupied indoors. This one was great because it kept their attention for at least a half hour, and they would happily do it again with different images!

Thanks to Cindy for the inspiration! I instantly thought, “The kids would LOVE this!” I hope you know someone that might like it too!

And for those of you that want to take it to the next level, check out this video to see some pretty amazing banana tattoos!

You know you love your kids when…

12

09.4.12

My oldest son came home with a Scholastic book order pleading to buy “fish”. Until that moment I had never heard of triops before. Have you?! Well, I said yes, but let me just say that these things are NOT fish. They are truly creepy prehistoric seamonsters. I’m not-so-secretly happy that the life span of these “pets” in 60 – 90 days. If I’ve tempted you to run out and buy some of these, I wouldn’t suggest this specific set. The plastic tank supplied is tall and narrow, and barely stands upright. I fear that the tank will wait until the triops are at their largest and grossest before it decides to fall over… I had better not be home when that happens. 😉

How about you? Do you have any creepy pets hanging around your house?

Happy Easter

10

07.4.12

Jason is such a great husband for me and father to the boys. He sets a good example for the boys with his loving gestures, like the tulips he brought home last week! I filled the base of the vase with rocks that flew home with us from California. I love how they remind me of sun and sand and holidays.

Last year, a couple of days after Easter, I woke to find this little note and eggs on top of my computer, left by my then six year old. So sweet! He has watched his dad leave notes throughout the house before he goes out of town and now he’s following in his footsteps. I’m looking forward to treating the boys to some chocolate of their own on Sunday morning.

I’m so excited to have a four day weekend! In addition to heading to church to celebrate true love, and the various family feasts, we’ll also be touring Home Depot to complete some projects around the house. What are you up to this weekend? Hope it’s a good one!

Spring Break DIY: Milk Art

156

17.3.12

Science & Art swirled up into one! This is my favorite project yet, and the last in the series! A huge thank you to Shannon (A Mom’s Year) for suggesting this art project. I was eager to try it, and I’m excited to share it with you!

All you need for this project is the following:

1. A plate 2. Milk (2% or higher) 3. Food Coloring 4. Dish Soap (That’s it!!)

1. Fill the plate with a thin layer of milk. Next, put in drops of food coloring.

2. Then, add a few drops of dish soap into the center of the food coloring, sit back, and watch! (I should mention that I tried this first with eco-friendly dish soap and it didn’t really work, so stick to the hard stuff for this!)

KA-POW! The milk fat instantly reacts to the soap, creating art!

Wow, right?! It will spin for quite a while, and if you add more drops of dish soap into the dark areas of food coloring you can keep the action going for quite a while.

If you want to see milk art in action, you can check out this video that I found:

Looking for more DIY’s to do with kids? Here are some more good ones:

Banana Tattoos / Eyebombing / Make a Volcano / Wire Sculpting

Photo Credits: Rosa Pearson (FlutterFlutter), Video Credit: Evie S

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