Monday, February 24, 2014

30+ Dr. Seuss Activities

This weekend, March 2nd, is a very special 109th Birthday: Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss!! To celebrate I have gathered some fun Dr. Seuss activities perfect for classrooms and families alike. Let me know which one is your favorite ;)







With all of these wonderful ideas you could celebrate Dr. Seuss all month long. What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Like this idea? Pin it!!



Saturday, February 22, 2014

My Favorite Things Saturdays 2/22


Every Saturday I like to wrap up my week with some of My Favorite Things. I am SO excited to now be co-hosting this event. Please grab a button and join me! This week:

    This week's giveaway: 

    Posts you may have missed this week:

    My favorites from around the web:
    http://www.henryhappened.com/garbage-disposal-refreshers.html
    http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/02/18/master-muffin-mix/
    http://www.welcometothemousehouse.com/2014/02/the-art-tote-tutorial.html
    DIY Citrus Garbage
    Disposal Refreshers
    Master Muffin Mix
    The Art Tote: Tutorial


    Featured from last weeks LinkUp:
    If you are featured, don't forget to grab a button from the bottom of this post!







    This week's LinkUp:
    • Please follow the co-hosts
    • Add your post below (Anything you like: Craft, contest, family adventure, recipe, etc.) 
    • We pin all links on Pinterest, so try to use a Pinterest friendly photo. ;)
    • Don't forget to sign up for your weekly reminder e-mail Here!
    • Grab a button
    • Check out a few others posts.
    • Come back next week to see who was featured!



    Friday, February 21, 2014

    Review and Giveaway: Missy Mila Twisted Tales

    Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.


    Mila is an 8-year-old quirky, energetic tomboy who loves to tell you traditional story-tales but with her own twist. Kids will be inspired to use their imagination and to become storytellers themselves. Audience participation is triggered by Mila's direct-to-camera asides all along the episode; her questions and games bring kids right into the story. Join Mila, laugh at the zany dialogs and fresh art in this innovative series which explores the world of classic tales.

    Traditional tales are timeless stories that everyone loves to delve back into, generation after generation. Far from old-fashioned clichés, the series “Missy Mila: Twisted Tales” revamps this cultural heritage through the imagination and spontaneity of a present-day little girl. Mila’s stories are peppered with spicy anachronisms and offbeat re-interpretations. So, don’t act surprised if you see a prince applying hair gel before setting out to rescue a princess, unless the latter is a kung-fu champion, that is! As for the dreadful Minotaur, Mila prefers to picture him as the Toupouloupou, a sweetie pie with a sweet tooth. And why do the wolves always have to be depicted as the bad guys? And, in her very personal adaptation of the Three Little Pigs, Mila swaps the awfully shy big bad wolf for an affable bull that… rocks!

    Rosey Posey watched Volume 2. She agrees that this DVD is best suited for boys and girls ages 4-8. We did enjoy the animation as it was well done and very colorful! 


    I'm pleased to announce that this week I am giving away a copy of Missy Mila Volume 2 DVD. Contest ends next Thursday.

     
    I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

    Thursday, February 20, 2014

    Winter Washi Tape Greeting Cards

    This post was originally written for Pleas and Carrots.
    Valentine's Day is behind us, but there seams to be a few more weeks of cold weather before we can freely venture outside. I like to write a lot of 'just because' cards during this time. It helps me pass the time and helps warm someones heart. Recently I discovered Washi tape (Yes, I'm a little late jumping on the bandwagon). It's so easy to make boarders and decorate mason jars now. I decided to use it to make my own greeting cards.


    • Washi Tape of different designs
    • These printables:

    Card 2

    Card 3

    Card 4

    Card 5


    1. Print off the card(s) of your choosing. Each card is formatted to be 5X7. This means you can print 2 on a 8X11 page of card stock and cut them apart.


    2. Fold in half and add Washi Tape to make a scarf.

    3. Write a note and warm a heart!


    I have purposely left these cards blank so you can add your own greeting: "Happy Birthday", "Get Wells Soon", "Winter Greetings".  You are welcome to alter the cover, all I ask is that you leave the web page on the back of the card. The customization of these cards is almost endless so, go warm someones heart! ;)


    Like this idea? Pin it!!



    Wednesday, February 19, 2014

    A Twist On Breakfast

     The following is a Sponsored Post:

    "Kid's hurry up!! You're going to be late!!" Who hasn't yelled expressed these words to their school aged kids? Some days breakfast feels like the last thing on my mind, and I am VERY guilty of missing it or going for the dreaded pastry or doughnuts. Bubee loves toasted pastries, but I really don't want him to be wider than he is tall, so I have found some quick and easy recipes to help put a new twist on our Breakfast routines.

    This bag of breakfast goodies has it all: fruit, multi-grains, and protein. Make a few of these at the start of the week and have on hand for those "I slept in!!" mornnings.
    In a bag mix:
    • Nature Valley® Protein Granola
    • Honey Nut Cheerios® Medley Crunch™ cereal
    • Trix® cereal
    • Freeze Dried Fruit (We used Peaches)  


    On the mornings you only have a few minuets and don't want to spend all your time cooking oatmeal, try this quick breakfast twist. The crunch of the granola really compliments the softness of the fruit.
    In a bowel mix:

    • Nature Valley® Protein Granola
    • Grandma Hoerner’s® Big Slice™ apples snack

     
    Chocolate Strawberries
    Who says you can't enjoy breakfast. This is great for eating at home or on the run in the back seat. You could even use Bananas.
    • Nutella® mini cup
    • Fresh Strawberries  

     For special savings and more great ideas check out Target.com/BreakfastTwist



    Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through Platefull Co-Op.





    Like this idea? Pin it!!


    Tuesday, February 18, 2014

    Over Coming a 5 Year-old's Picky Eating

    I am very blessed that I have never had a super picky eater. All 3 of my kids never turned down much food. Yea, Little Lady doesn't care for raw broccoli, but that's an intense texture and taste, so we will just try again latter.


    I credit most of that to one of our household rules: "You eat what is fixed or you do without... Mom is not a short-order cook!". Now like I said, my kids haven't been SUPER picky eaters so this rule worked for us. There have never been any nutritional issues or worries, and I think Rosey Posey is the only one who was stubborn enough to skip a meal. She only did it once and was happy when dinner time came after refusing lunch. There have been pleanty meals where someone didn't like the food and was the last one to finish due to the procrastination of eating, but no one has ever really gone hungry.

    When doing my meal planning I try to take into consideration the family's preferences. Bubee dose not like spicy food. Since I don't like it and Little Lady doesn't need it, I really try to stay away from spicy food. Rosey Posey doesn't like tomato soup, so the only time there is tomato soup is when I'm fixing grilled cheese. That way she still has something to eat.  I also love to get everyone's feedback on dishes. When I fix something new I like to hear what they think, this way I can plan for next time.


    Bubee eats ALL the time. Our family joke is we are not saving for collage, we are saving for a food fund for his teen years. He is the youngest in his class (July Birthday) and the tallest. One of our Doctors estimates he will be about 6'8" when he's full grown, so you can imagine what kind of food it takes to fuel that kind of growth. I keep a large supply of healthy snacks in the house.

    About a month ago Bubee started not wanting ANYTHING I fixed for dinner. I was blind-sided! Getting him to eat was a battle every night and there were many times that 30 min after everyone else was done he was still starring at his plateful. He would always finish his dinner... eventually, but I was getting tiered of the struggle.

    Then one day while meal planning I had an idea: Let him plan the meals, then there was no way he could refuse to eat! Great idea, but I didn't want pizza every night, so a compromise: If he eats his dinner each night without complaining, then once a week he gets to pick ANY normal meal for dinner (This way he can't pick Ice Cream Sundaes or something like that). We chose Tuesday nights since that's what works with our schedule.

    I do all my grocery shopping on Mondays. So now, every Monday he 'places his order' for Tuesday nights. This keeps him from changing his mind 5 min before dinner and gives me enough time to plan and prepare. I have been so pleasantly surprised! Of course the first week he wanted pizza, so to make it fun we made a Snowman Pizza. After that it has been nice. One week he asked for breakfast for dinner; This means eggs, bacon, biscuits, and gravy. Another week he wanted fish.

    It has been so wonderful! And through out the week usually a quick reminder of his Tuesday night privilege and he's more than happy to finish dinner. Some nights, if he's not thrilled with dinner, he will talk about his plans for that upcoming Tuesday night; but he always finishes his dinner now with minimal conflict!

    It has been so successful that Thursday nights Rosey Posey gets to pick dinner. I like it because that's two less dinners I have to plan each week. And with Rosey Posey being 11, some weeks she not only plans dinner, but prepares it too. This has been a great tool in teaching her some household management skills.

    So now, dinner time has once again become a peaceful family gathering at the dinner table with plenty of joy, peace and love!

    Monday, February 17, 2014

    Atlanta Snow Round 2

    Wow! 2014 has already been a strange year. In the course of 2 weeks I have experienced 2 winter storms (one mostly snow, one lots of snow AND ice), A Thunderstorm, Temperatures close to the 70s, and 2 earthquakes. Should I seriously be thinking about getting ready for Armageddon :P Like I said in my initial Winter Bucket List post, we are lucky of we get more than a dusting of snow each winter. This year we've already had over 6" total: That's a LOT for us. I think this time around Atlanta fared MUCH better. Most businesses closed on Wed and Thur and the news kept saying "STAY OFF THE ROADS!!". I spent most of Monday and Tuesday preparing as we were expecting more ice than snow, so it was only a matter of time before we lost power. Tuesday came and went with little winter weather, just some rain that eventually froze.



    I had to make an emergency run to the store for Gatorade Tuesday night. Bubee got sick and I had no intentions of spending 2-3 days with a sick child and no Gatorade. I got to Publix seconds before they locked the doors. Praise God, they let me grab a couple of things, so I got the essentials: Gatorade for Bubee, Instant Oatmeal for Rosey Posey (Plus if the power went out we could easily heat water on the gas stove), and Little Debbies for Meme and I :P. Yes, if I was going to be trapped in the house for 2-3 days with kids I was going to have some chocolate!


    Wednesday morning the 'snow' finally moved in. (It was mostly ice pellets, but it was still pretty) Rosey Posey and I explored the winter wonderland and got to do a little sledding. Even Meme joined in.
    Meme Sledding

    Thursday night everything changed into real snow and we woke up Thursday morning to some thick FUN snow.


    All my garden supplies are buried.

    Bubee got to join us on Thursday after being sick. We even got Little Lady out for some snow fun!






    Sledding fun!!

     Sneak-snowball attack by Bubee!

     Little Lady and Papaw. Papaw LOVES his Santa gloves for the snow!


     Rosey Posey making a snow angel


     The view of Sweat Mountain from our house.


    Rosey Posey, Bubee, and Snowball the snowman!


    After a long fun day in the snow, there is nothing like a cup of Meme's Hot Chocolate:




    The crazy thing is that even though it has been in the 50s and 60s the past 3 days, there is still piles of snow here and there. I stopped by the grocery store today and there was still a pile of dirty snow in the middle of the parking lot. Friends from the north: how long does this stuff hang around?!?

    On another note, I have finally set out to accomplish a long time goal of playing the Violin. My eventual goal is to play fiddle. So this past weekend I got myself a basic violin. Wish me luck on my journy!


    The above post(s) may contain affiliated links, product placements, etc. This is how I can afford to buy the supplies to bring you new activites. Thanks for your support!
    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...