Simple Things

I love the simple things that kids entertained.  

Kate played with and in this storage box for an hour yesterday.

Green Eggs and Ham

This week Kate attended her very first birthday party - her good friend Barrett just turned one!  They've pretty much been friends since birth, since they were born 6 weeks apart!  There were two other friends: Ellie and Morey, and the kids and the moms all have a great time (we were all best friends in high school).

This picture was the best we could get, considering the wiggliness of the one or close-to-one age.  I was waving a sparkly purple ball above their heads to try and get their attention!

Courtney (Barrett's mom) created a very adorable party theme - Dr. Seuss!  You're going to be just as impressed as I was!  First look at this food table - delicious, a lovely layout, and all related to the theme!

Green deviled eggs and ham sandwiches - I think it's pretty obvious that we're talking about Green Eggs and Ham!

Colored goldfish for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and 7-Up for A Great Day for Up!

Talk about creative!

The kids loved the food too, and basically migrated from mom to mom begging for food :)

One mom got a little swamped all at once . . .

The one thing Kate didn't love about the party were the hats - 

(Sorry these next couple of pictures aren't that great - they were taken with my iphone)

She pulled on it until it came off.  And then gave me her "Mom, why do you torture me like that?" face.

But Barrett sure looked cute in his!

Happy Birthday Barrett!

All Aboard!

Here's a fun Christmas craft from Family Fun . . . a cut-out train!  Fun and easy, and kids would love it.  And Kate would eat it, so I'll probably hold off for a few years.  To make it last longer, you might glue the paper to something a little stronger, like poster board or card stock.  Either way, enjoy!

Image from familyfun.com

Click here to go to the Family Fun website to find out how easy it really is :)

One other fun Christmas activity to try with your kids . . . popcorn snowmen!  Look how adorable they are!

Image from familyfun.com

These are also very simple, and don't require a ton of ingredients - mostly just stuff you have on hand.  And, if your kids would like them better, you could make them out of Rice Krispy treats instead!

Click here to go to the Family Fun website and learn how to make these snowmen. 

And be sure to look around their website - they have a ton of other fun Christmas ideas, like:

Candy Sleigh

Christmas Crew

Merry Mice

Sock Snowfolk

Thumbprint Reindeer

Think Outside the “Toy Box”

I am officially giving up.  I’ll never buy a toy again.  Kate would much prefer anything else around the house over a toy, so what’s the point?

Here’s what you’ll find in Kate’s preferred “toy box”:

Yes, that’s just a bag with all of my thread in it.  She loves to wave it so that it makes a good jangling (is that a word?) noise.  I think she also loves all the bright colors.

This is another favorite – an old beat-up jewelry box I bought at a yard sale.  Price tag: $1.50.  Yup, that’s all folks.  And I can’t tell you how many hours of joy and entertainment she has had pulling out all the drawers, opening the cupboards, spinning the necklace holder . . . 

This keyboard is another big hit.  Kate can push any button she wants, she can suck on the cord, she can bang all she wants . . . and I don’t have to say no.  Now, I wouldn’t recommend obtaining this treasure in the way I did . . . I spilled hot apple cider all over it, so now the whole number pad pushes down together, the space bar doesn’t work, and when you push the “k” down, it types knlmj.  We had to go buy a new keyboard, and they aren’t cheap, but I wasn’t going to let our old one go to waste.  You might try looking at a local thrift store to find one for cheap.

See these diaper boxes?  There’s more there than meets the eye.  Like hours of fun opening and closing the lids, banging on them, etc.  Never underestimate the power of a box – for a child of any age!

Kate also loves to play with balls.  I only bought one, the big pink one on the left.  Guess which one she plays with least?  Her favorite is the golf ball, because it fits perfects in her hands.  She chases it all over the house.

And of course, kitchen gadgets.  Way too much fun.  They make such a great sound when they hit the ground.

And when you’ve removed all the gadgets, throw out the containers, for good measure.

This pastry brush is definitely Kate’s preferred companion.

So next time you’re at the store and ready to buy a new toy, think twice.  When kids are young they just want to play with the everyday things.  The trick is to find things that you’re okay with letting them play with.

Be creative.  Think outside the “toy box.”  You’ll find that most kid treasures don’t have a price tag on them.

For Kids: Crayon Roll

I found this and love it!  I'm not quite ready to make one, since Kate is more interested in eating crayons than drawing with them, but I thought I'd share anyway!

picture from Life in Grace

For directions on how to make it, go to Life in Grace.  Talk about a handy dandy thing for moms.  And, a perfect stocking stuffer, since Christmas is coming right up.