Parenting Children

Thanksgiving is next week? Wow, that snuck up on me. If Thanksgiving is next week that means Christmas is right around the corner. With Christmas decorations, music and commercials going up right after Halloween, Thanksgiving gets lost and that is a shame because it is a great holiday and you and your kids can make crafts for your home or for gifts for your guests. Here are some ideas for things to do at home for thanksgiving.

This site has a ton of Thanksgiving print outs for kids of all ages.

Make this thankful turkey craft.

Kids love to help in the kitchen, what about making these popcorn balls ahead of time with your kids. They get to make dessert and you get to have an afternoon of fun with your kids.
Caramel Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups unpopped popcorn
1/4 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions

1. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a 4 quart saucepan, and heat over high heat. When oil is hot, add 1/2 cup of popping corn. Keep pan moving constantly. When corn stops popping, remove from heat. Place popped corn in oven to keep warm. Repeat until all corn has been popped. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan with a candy thermometer inserted, combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Stir well and bring to boiling over medium heat. Stir in condensed milk; simmer, stirring constantly, until thermometer reads 238 degrees F (114 degrees C). Stir in vanilla.
3. Pour caramel over popped corn and stir to coat. Butter hands lightly; shape popcorn into balls about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

Remember to enter the contest to win one of two Christmas cds. This contests ends tomorrow night!

Thanksgiving crafts, Thanksgiving coloring pages, Thanksgiving print outs, caramel popcorn balls, kids, cooking with kids, rainy day activities, crafts, kid crafts, parenting, parenting children

This is my favorite Thanksgiving craft for kids. All you will need is a few sheets of colored construction paper, ribbon or thread and branches from a tree.
Collect some small branches from around your neighborhood that will fit into one of your vases.

Next cut out of help you children cut out leaves from the construction paper big enough to write on, about 5 inches.

Have your children write what they are thankful for on each leaf.
Then punch a hole in the leaf and string ribbon through.

Hang on the branch.

This will make a great centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner and I am sure all of their relatives will love to see how thankful your children are. Then you can save each leaf set for next year and add onto it, or save it in a dated bag and keep in a memory box.

crafts, Thanksgiving craft, rainy day craft ideas, Thanksgiving centerpiece ideas, moms, SAHM, school age children crafts, toddler crafts

We are always looking for things to do with the kids that eat up some of the monotony of the day. Especially during the week when I am in the only one who is with them all day. They LOVE arts & crafts and can do an art project for hours. I try and only do projects that I want to keep not something that they spend time on and I throw it away 12 hours later, or something that is not functional. Here are some craft ideas for kids three and up:

Decoupage buckets or pails.
- Cut out illustrations from a damaged or favorite book or magazine like Highlights. Or maybe cut out handprints of your kids.
- Glue stick them on to the pail like a collage.
- Once pail is covered, brush on a few layers of modge podge
- Once dry, add your favorite pom-pom trim or ribbon
- Use this to house a gift for a grandparent. Use it to collect treasures you find outside or at the beach. What about delivering cookies or treats to a neighbor in it?

Make Crayon “Muffins”
Don’t you hate the broken or small crayons you always seem to have with the new perfect crayons? Don’t throw them away make color “muffins”

-Peel the papers off broken crayon pieces and place no more then three different colors in each cup of a mini muffin tray.
-Place in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for a few minutes and then cool.
-Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Then pop them out of the tray and you have new (to you) crayons and they are perfect shape for little hands.

Have fun!

crafts, arts & crafts, crafts for kids, rainy day activities, rainy day ideas, stay at home moms, SAHM, toddlers, preschoolers, kids, parenting, parenting children

Halloween is today. If that catches you of guard, that may mean you are a procrastinator. I understand, holidays can sneak up on you. I have some last minute costume ideas and fun games and things to do with your kids before it is time to go out and collect all that candy.

Do it yourself last minute costume ideas:

Tourist: Get a hat, sunglasses and hang a camera around your neck

Cookie: Dress in all brown and pin felt colored circles all over to look like M&Ms

Mummy: wrap your self in toilet paper. Enough said!

Athlete: dress up in a old jersey or uniform. Bring along a ball.

If all else fails call up family members, or neighbors and ask if they have a costume that you can borrow.

How about you make masks of everyone in your family and then trade them. Be your husband or daughter for Halloween and have them be you or their brother. This could be fun all year long!

This is a great site for simulating a pumpkin carving. It kept my kids fascinated for hours. Here is another one that is better for older kids.
Ben and Jerry’s has not only recipes and crafts ideas but also print outs and games.

Remember to go over safety tips with your kids and be safe out there!
What is your favorite last minute costume idea?

last minute costume ideas, costume ideas, Halloween crafts, virtual jack o lanterns, kids, parenting, teens, craft ideas

Halloween is one holiday that we prepare for but creeps up on me. The kids get wishy washy about their costumes, although this year we are doing pretty well and both kids have their costumes already. It also has been so warm here in NJ that I haven’t been in the fall/Halloween mood. Today it is finally cool and I am officially going to start doing some Halloween crafts with the kids.
I have listed some ideas here for you to do with your children to prepare for this fun season.
(more…)

I have some news to share with you guys, I am pregnant. I am due with our third baby March 2008. I was much more sick and tired this time around so I have had some issues, but otherwise I am feeling fine now. I am happy to share with you all the things that are going on with me, my body and my family while getting ready for this new arrival.

Now that I am in my second trimester and feeling better, I am getting excited about this pregnancy. We are not going to find out the sex of this baby at my upcoming ultrasound, so I am having some fun online. I have writtten before on some sites to have fun on and I have recently found some more. Check out this site to track your growing belly. I know you see it growing before your eyes but it is fun to see it from a different perspective.
(more…)

Do you have a ton of apples around your house from apple picking like I do? Make caramel apples with your kids, they taste better then store bought and it is a fun thing to do with kids. Here is what you need and how to do it:

Ingredients:
4 very firm apples
2 tablespoons water
bag of caramels
4 popsicle sticks

Instructions:
-Remove stems of apples and push sticks into the apple where the stem used to be.

-Put caramels and water in a bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Stir occasionally.

-When caramels are all melted, dip apples into the mixture and twist letting the extra caramel fall back into the bowl

-Place on greased baking sheet and cool in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

*you can also dip apples into toppings like coconut, chocolate chips, nuts or crushed candy bars. Just roll warm caramel apples in topping then place in baking sheet to cool.

I may just do this with my kids today!

rainy day ideas, fall activities, kid activities, cooking with kids, kids, parenting, SAHM, caramel apples, how to make caramel apples

Does your child love to sing and dance as much as mine do? Maybe Baby Disco is perfect for you and your young children.
Baby Loves Disco was started by A mom who was sick of the same old places to take the children loaded with gift shops and terrible snacks.

Baby Loves Disco transforms a regular night club into a party for kids 6 months to 7 years old and their parents! They have healthy snacks, good music and tons of fun. They started out in Philadelphia and now has dance parties in nineteen cities in the U.S.. I am so intrigued by this idea that I am signing up for the next one in Philadelphia. I can’t wait to go and see what all the fun is about and report back to you.

I am always looking for something fun and different to do with the kids which does not require me to sell a body part to pay for it. I love that we can all go as a family too.

Have you ever been to Baby Loves Disco in your area? Any Philly area moms going to the next one?

parenting, kids, babies, parents, parenting children, families

There is one thing I think all kids like at any age and that is water. My kids are no exception and they love to pour water from container to container, that is why they love to play “tea party”.

This tea set for kids is perfect. It is colorful and just right for little hands. It is a 13 piece porcelain set for $17.99.
Make a day of it and have a picnic and some tea with this cute set. This porcelain set comes with includes: a basket, 4 sets of spoons, forks and knives, 4 sets of mini cups and saucers, 1 teapot, a sugar pot, a milk jug, 4 napkins and a tablecloth.
Invite some friends over (even dolls!) cut out sandwiches with cookie cutters, read a story and then have some tea.

Adorable and fun for kids and their parents!

tea set, tea set for kids, tea party, toddlers, kids, children, parenting, SAHM, parenting children

here is a version of I spy that every child at any age should enjoy. Make a I Spy bottle.
This is what you will need:

An empty plastic bottle
A bunch of little items, like a candle, paper clip, beads, hair clip, button etc. (anything that will fit into your bottle)
Rice, sand or colored sprinkles
Tape
1 piece of paper
Funnel

-Make a list of your items

-Add your items to the bottle and then the rice, using a funnel. Leave some space at the top so the rice has room to move around when looking for the hidden items.

-Tape the lid on tightly.

-On the bottle, tape a list of the items to be found in the bottle. Have the kids scratch off everything they “spy” in the bottle. .

This would work with the tiny animals they sell at the dollar store, then you can draw a picture of the animals on the list so kids who cannot read yet can play!

car games, rainy day games, rainy day crafts, crafts for kids, games, kids, children, rainy day ideas, moms, sahm

And Miles to go before we sleep has a blog carnival going on right now with a ton of recipes and craft ideas called Make it From Scratch, hosted by Heather L at It’s All For The Best.

People have submitted great ideas to do with or for your kids this summer from making your own homemade microwave popcorn, to making your own board games to making homemade pesto.

Go check it out!

summer fun, rainy day ideas, crafts, crafts for kids, teens, parents, school age kids, parenting

We are off to the beach for a few days and I am thinking of some things to do with the kids. Here are some fun beach ideas for kids of all ages.

PAINT SHELLS
1. Rinse a few shells with water and let them dry
2. Paint pictures on the inside of each shell
3. Set finished shells out in the sun until dry

MAKE BUBBLES
1. mix 1 cup of water with 1/3 cup of Dawn dishwashing liquid and 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup. Use straws to blow little bubbles.

MAKE SAND PICTURE
1. Get black or dark colored paper
2. Use the glue to draw a picture on the paper.
3. Sprinkle sand on the glue picture, then shake excess off.
4. Frame the masterpiece!

Have fun in the sun!

vacations, family vacations, kids, children, beach crafts, crafts for vacation, arts & crafts, parenting children, family

Top five reason why my children are strange:

1) They love Christmas music.* All year round they listen to it on their little cd player they have and sing along at the top of their lungs.

2) My son will not wear collared shirts or shirts with stripes. Oh yeah, and he won’t wear plain gap t-shirts either because they “have a bear tag on them”. The result is that I have at least 20 shirts he will not wear, most of them are brand new.

3) Every night at dinner they say they do not like something on their plate that they have eaten and loved no less then 10 times. They always end up eating it. Now we just ignore their initial disgust.

4) They do not like chicken nuggets, french fries, any kind of potato in any form, eggs, hot dogs or cotton candy. I thought all kids like this stuff!
Not that I want them to like these things, I try to feed them healthy meals but they have been offered these things at parties, fairs and school and neither of them like any of it at all.
Instead they like sushi, feta cheese, peas, sharp cheddar, past with LOTS of parmesean cheese and almonds.

5) They love each other and us. When my husband is at work or if one of us takes another out, the twins ask for each other the whole time. Or one of us.
I am sure this will change in about 4 years or so. I am holding on while it lasts.

* I love Christmas music all year long too, I admit it.

kids, children, parents, parenting, twins

Is it September yet? I know my children are only four but I understand this phrase more then ever now. Especially on days like today where it is going to be 99 degrees with heavy humidity. Yippee!

I am always looking for something cool to do in the air conditioning and I don’t like spending $100 a week for entertaining my children. So I come up with new things to do inside.
Here are some ideas:

1) Shells. Do you have some shells from the beach you don’t know what to do with? Drill a small hole in the top of each and let your child pick out a ribbon and make the shell into a necklace. Or buy an inexpensive shadow box and have your child place shells, starfish and sand in it. Hang it in their bedrooms. Need some shells? Try www.seashellcity.com they have shells from $.30!

2) Money. teach your children he value of money. Let them help you sort and count coins as you place them in coin holders. Let them wash coins with a small bucket of soap and water and an old toothbrush.

3) Shirts. Buy some plain white shirts (even a pack of men’s undershirts) and let your children put their hand prints and/or footprints on them, then print the date on the backs. Keep the shirt as a smock when they paint. Or keep the shirt as a keepsake.

4) Dough. Make playdough. Or bake with your kids.

5) Cut. My kids love to pretend they are cutting our coupons in the paper. I let them do this outside because there is a mess involved. Let them make a collage from old papers or magazines. All you need is construction paper, glue and crayons or markers.

6) Read. Go to the library. Ours has story times for children of all ages, crafts and visitors to talk about safety, strangers etc. They also have cool computer games that we do not have at home.

7) Movies. If you don’t have the free movies in your area, let your kids watch their home movies one day. Make some popcorn and close the shades, kids love watching themselves!

summer fun, kids, children, moms, SAHM, parenting, bored kids, fun at home, craft ideas, mom tips