Halloween will be here soon. When AJ was little I didn’t ever have to worry about a costume for her. She would wear one of her princess dresses or put together a simple costume with one of her leotards. Last year was the first time I bought her a regular costume. She was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Since the costume still fits, I thought she would just wear it again. I guess as you get older that isn’t a fun thing to do. I don’t know what she will be this year. But, it got me thinking about how much she has really changed over the last few years.

Before 2007 I didn’t have a very good camera. I know she was Snow White one year, and I think she was Bell a few years in a row.

Here are a few pictures from her Halloween costumes from 2007 through 2015.

2007 – Princess Bell

I believe that this was one of the years that we went to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Back in those days we went to Disneyland every Thursday after she finished Gymnastics.

2008 – Minnie Mouse

She loved this dress, and wore it all of the time. In fact we purchased the same one twice until they no longer made it in her size.

2009 – Princess Aurora

This was one of her favorite dresses.

2010 – Pocahontas

AJ is actually a quarter Indian. She really liked that she could wear a costume that represented that.

2011 – Gymnast or Cheerleader

I don’t remember if she was a gymnast or cheerleader this year. I know that I was in a cast and couldn’t take her trick or treating so she just went to a few homes of people we knew. This picture wasn’t from Halloween, but from a cheerleading competition earlier in the year.

2012 – Butterfly

This was a quick and easy costume that only cost about $4. She loved it!

2013 – Cat

She planned to save the mask and tail for the next year, but they didn’t end up lasting.

2014 – Chaeta

This time she picked a chaeta. Again this was only about $6. It was nice when she had leotards lying around.

2015 – Dorothy

She didn’t have a leotard that fit anymore, so we had to pick something different. I think she looked adorable in this costume.

My baby has grown up. Now so many of the costumes that are available are too sexy. I am sure we will find her something that works, but I do miss the days when she was younger. I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. What will your child be this year for Halloween?

 

 

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The sweet smell of summer will soon be in the air. Commercials for theme parks and water parks are all around. Summer camps are getting into full swing. But, how can you and your children enjoy the fun summer without breaking the bank?

You can look on Pinterest and find thousands of ideas for cheap summer fun, but most of them require a great deal of craftiness. The truth is I am not crafty! I love to do crafts and I try, but I never seem to get them right. While I would love to turn my backyard into a miniature water park, I lack the time, energy, skill, and funds.

Here are 10 outside activities to keep your child occupied throughout the summer, while making memories and not breaking the bank!

1. Create an obstacle course. The choices are limitless!

Grab a few things you have laying around, use a little creativity, and have a blast. Crawl under chairs, jump over pool noodles, hop from one spot to the next. You can make it into a race or try to beat the clock.

2. Blow bubbles. There are a bunch of recipes online to make your own bubble solution, but I like to buy the big thing of bubbles from the store. They only cost about $5 and they last a long time.
3. Water gun fun. If your family doesn’t like the idea of playing with toy guns, there are other water shooters too. We found a few really large water shooters at the 99 cent store and they work great. You can spray each other, yourself, or objects. Make it a game to see how long it takes to push a ball across the yard using only the pressure of the water. You may even be able to sneak in some learning.

4. Jump rope. Jumping rope can keep my little one occupied for hours. Add a summer twist and the fun is multiplied. Jump rope through the sprinklers, or find another way to add water. Just remember to be careful not to slip!

5. Water balloons. Have a water balloon fight, play water balloon tic tac toe, have a water balloon toss. Like the obstacle course you are only limited by your imagination.
6. Sidewalk chalk.  There is just something fun about drawing on the ground with bright beautiful colors. You can make your own chalk or pick some up for a few dollars at the store. You can sneak a little learning in here too by practicing math facts or spelling words.
7. Swimming.  It may not be an option for everyone, but if you have a pool nearby make sure to utilize it.

8. Roast Marshmallows. A simple activity of roasting marshmallows around a fire pit can bring a night full of happiness and fun. Add in telling ghost stories or singing songs and it really can’t be beat.

9. Flash Light Tag. A few flashlights and a back yard makes for a great game of tag. Once you get tired of playing tag, use the flashlights to make shadow puppets.
10. Play with ice and water. Freeze water in different containers and let your kid’s imagination run wild. Set up a table with measuring cups and water and let them explore. Let them get wet and messy and have a blast.

Whatever you do this summer, shut of the TV and computers, get outside for a few minutes and have fun with your kids. You don’t have to have a lot of money to make a memorable summer for your kids! What are you planning to do this summer?

 

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I don’t know about you, but after Easter, my house is full of plastic Easter Eggs. Years ago we would save them and reuse the plastic eggs for a few years. The last five or six years, though, they don’t seem to be made of the same quality. I hate to just throw away the plastic eggs, so I have come up with a few different uses for those plastic eggs over the years. Here are a dozen different ways to reuse plastic eggs after Easter. There are even a few educational ideas thrown in.

•  Use them as math counters. Take the eggs apart and have your kids use them to count, sort them by colors, or even sort them by size. For older kids you can put the eggs in a bag and turn it into a lesson on probability.

• Make fun creatures. Give your child an egg, some googly eyes, pipe cleaner, and some markers and let them create something. You will need to use a good craft glue, because the school glue doesn’t seem to stick very well.

• Trace circles. Use the eggs to trace circles. You can even turn it into a math lesson about finding the area of a circle. Or, trace a lot of circles and color them different colors, making a cool art project.
• Use them as stamps. Dip the eggs in paint and stamp them onto paper. You can also use a stamp pad or even marker.
• Use them as a coin holder. Give the egg to your child to hold all of their loose change. The small size makes it a great fit for most purses.
• Make noise makers. Seal any holes in the eggs and then fill partially with rice or beans. Then glue the egg shut. These noise makers can be a lot of fun and the kids can even help make them!
• Make a Barbie purse. You will only need part of the egg for this project. Some of our eggs have holes in them. For the ones with holes take a piece of yarn and string it through. Then tape the yarn to the sides of the egg so that the yarn stays in place. Tie the ends and then decorate the egg with stickers. It can be a great basket or purse.

• Hold earrings. The plastic eggs are the perfect size to hold earrings. Once the egg is shut it can easily be put into a drawer.
• Practice math facts. Using a permanent marker, write different math facts on one side pf the eggs. On the other side write the answers. Then have your little one match the facts to the correct answer. To make it a little bit more difficult, have the answers on different colored eggs.

• Learn about the Presidents. After you take the eggs apart, write the first names and number of the president on the tops of the eggs. On the bottoms of the eggs write the President’s last name. Then have your child match them up. You can start with a few and work up to all of them. What a fun way to learn the order of the President’s! You can use the same idea and practice the states and capitals. Write the names of two different capitals on the top part of the eggs. On the bottom of the eggs write the names of two states. Have your child practice matching the correct state and capitals. Since there are two states and capitals on each egg, you can work on from two to fifty at a time.
• Have a scavenger hunt. Write clues on paper and stick them inside of the eggs. You can combine an egg hunt and a scavenger hunt for a great family activity. 
• Use them as pool toys. We like to fill them with water and then dive for them. They also make great bath toys.

If you can’t think of a way to reuse your plastic eggs, give them to your kids and tell them to be creative. You never know what they will come up with. Hope you and your kids can have a good time reusing your plastic eggs.

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Our family always has left over candy canes at the end of Christmas. We use them to decorate, but not very many of us enjoy their taste. Usually we end up throwing them out, but this year I decided to try something new. I held on to them and decided I would find a use for them. As I stared at them sitting there, I noticed that they made a heart when they were put together. I grabbed a few supplies out of the craft drawer and came up with these adorable candy cane valentines that AJ can hand out to the kids at church on Valentine’s Day.

You only need a few supplies:

2 candy canes

1 craft stick (red if possible)

1 pipe cleaner

scissors

hot glue gun and glue

sharpie marker

Start off by arranging the candy canes into a heart shape. Once you decide how you like it, put a dot of glue where the canes come together at the top and a dot of glue at the bottom. Set your candy cane heart aside while you make the arrow. Start by writing a Valentine’s Day message on the craft stick. Then cut pieces of the pipe cleaner and shape them to form the front and back of the arrow. Attach the shaped pipe cleaner to the craft stick with the hot glue. The last step is to glue the arrow to the candy cane heart.

The glue didn’t seem to hurt the candy cane, so the recipients will be in for a sweet treat.

The project was quick and simple! I am not a very crafty person, but even I was able to pull these off. AJ is thrilled to have an interesting Valentine to hand out, but the best part is that it didn’t cost us anything. We had everything already in our craft drawer.

What are your kids handing out this year?

 

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It is January – a new year and a new beginning. This time of year, everyone is making New Years Resolutions. They want to eat healthier, lose weight, save more, spend less, and generally live a better life. The sad fact is that often these resolutions are short lived fads. Try going to the gym in January and it is packed, but by March that same gym will have plenty of empty machines. Why is that? I feel it is because we make our resolutions too big, too general, and often unrealistic. The idea of getting up at 5am and exercising every day of the week starts off with good intentions but eventually life gets into the way and you are only able to go two days a week. Eventually, you stop going all together.

Setting and achieving goals is an important skill to learn. How can we teach these skills to our children if every year they see us making resolutions and not following through with them?

 Make a goal instead of a resolution!

 What’s the difference?

A resolution is “a decision or determination to do something.”

A goal is “the result toward which effort is directed.”

Don’t make an unrealistic resolution that you know you won’t be able to keep; make a goal that you can work for.

Regardless of what your goals are for the new year, here are a few things to keep in mind:

•  Set goals that make sense for your family. 

•  Be specific in your goals.

•  Start off with short term goals. Just because it is a New Years goal, doesn’t mean it has to last the entire year. Try to start off with a weekly or monthly goal. Then see how things are going and adjust your goal if needed.

•  You are going to have set backs. Just as the new year is a new beginning, each and every day brings new beginnings as well. If today didn’t go as well as you had planned, make every effort tomorrow to be better.

While I would love to make goals to get more sleep, stick to a better homeschooling schedule, or to have more “me time,” those goals are not realistic for my family.  I take care of my grandmother who has Alzheimer’s, so we never know how our day will go.

This year I have set some goals as I work on my word of the year, content.

Did you pick a word of the year or make any goals?

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This time of year my Facebook news feed is full of two different types of posts, those who feel Halloween is the Devil’s holiday, and those who enjoy posting gruesome and scary pictures. I fall somewhere in the middle.

I won’t be posting scary images or decorating the house in death glorifying décor, but AJ will dress up, have fun with some friends and eat a little too much candy.

We treat Halloween as a time to dress up as a fun character (AJ has been different princesses, a gymnast, a cheerleader, a cat, and this year she will be Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ.) and get some candy. In previous years we have trick or treated in areas we know and we have attended quite a few church events. When she was younger we went to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

We have never made it a time to glorify death or evil, for our family it is a very downplayed holiday where we focus on pumpkins and the changing season.

This year I can’t do much of anything, because I just had surgery. There won’t be any fun Halloween crafts or pumpkin carving. And we will miss another trip to the pumpkin patch. I am sure we will watch a few Halloween related movies and AJ will do some pumpkin themed worksheets, but that will be about it. On Halloween AJ will spend the evening at her church helping out with their Harvest Fest while I rest.

I am completely aware that Halloween is derived from a pagan holiday, but really most of our holidays are. Some people celebrate the holiday with spiritual rituals and other odd things. We don’t. I feel that it is like most holidays, it is what you make it. There are a lot of educational things you can learn about this time of year; the human body, cats, spiders, bats. Make the holiday what you want it to be.

So happy Halloween everyone.

Do you let your kids dress up for Halloween? *We don’t have to agree but please keep comments kind, or they will be deleated.*

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