Monthly Archives: March 2012

Spring Photo Hunt

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The weather is absolutely beautiful!!!  The kids have been running around in shorts and flip flops and they started noticing little signs of spring in our backyard.  It’s a bit early to really dig into the garden, so we decided to go on a hunt for spring.  A green spring photo hunt is perfect to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

We went on a short walk around the neighborhood.  Kaleb was in charge of snapping photos.  I think it is fun to hand over the camera and see life from your child’s perspective.  They have a unique perspective and often capture things that we miss.  Our kids have a camera that is theirs to use, but they love taking pictures on my SLR.

I love this time of year.  There is something so special about observing nature “come alive” again after being dormant.  It was fun watching the kids run around in search of green leaves.  There was lots of squeals when they found little plants peeking out.  I’m sure the neighbors were wondering what we were up to.  We probably did look a bit silly running around, but more than that Bree brought one of our chickens(Chip) on the walk with us.  Ha!  I’m not sure if Chip enjoyed the Spring hunt as much as the kids did, but she was a great sport.

I hope you are taking time with your kiddos to enjoy spring.  Grab your camera and head outside.

St. Patrick’s Day

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I am so ready for spring to be here.  Nothing is better than jumping in puddles and watching everything turn green once again.  With spring comes our favorite green holiday…St. Patrick’s Day.  To celebrate, here is a quick post highlighting some of my favorite past St. Patrick’s Day Activities.

St Patricks Day Activities ~ lots of fun ideas your kids will love

~ Simply click on the titles or images to take you to the full post ~

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Shamrock crystals

Shamrock Crystals ~ St Patricks Day Activity

These sparkly Shamrock Crystals were a HUGE hit in our house.  I love how they shimmer in the sun.  This was our first attempt at making these fun crystals.  Since then we have made them for almost every holiday.

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Credit Card Art

Credit Card Art ~ St Patricks Day Activity

Scraping paint with credit cards is a fun twist on painting that your kids will love.  We used a rainbow of colors for St. Patrick’s Day.

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Shamrock Sprouts

Shamrock Sprouts ~ St Patricks Day Activity

The kids loved tending to their mini sprout garden.  We were amazed that the sprouts grew without any soil!  We were surprised at how quickly they sprouted on the damp shamrock sponge.

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St. Patrick’s Day School Lunch

St. Patrick's Day Lunch

Festive school lunches are always a hit in our house.  My kids love the corny jokes!  Your kids will get a kick out of few festive jokes on simple Shamrock shapes.

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Stamping with Shamrock Cookie Cutters

Shamrock Cookie Cutter Stamping ~ St Patricks Day Activity

Stamping with cookie cutters is a simple way for little ones to paint.  Cookie cutter painting is one of my go to holiday painting projects for little ones.  This is one of my favorite cookie cutters.

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Racing Balloon Leprechauns 

Racing balloon leprechauns ~ St Patricks Day Activity

Racing balloon leprechauns was a HUGE hit!  There was a bit of set up, but totally worth it.  The kids favorite part was watching their leprechauns fly to the rainbow.

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You won’t want to miss out on our favorite Saint Patricks Day crafts and activities.

Fix Barbies Hair

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How to tame doll hair with one simple trick.

I grew up playing with Barbies, but mostly just when friends came over.  I remember my mom spending hours sewing special outfits for my dolls.  The sad thing was, I never really played with them.  Now with two young girls in my house, you would think that I would be sewing the special outfits and tripping over well loved barbies.  It must be genetic because the girls play with them some, but like me only occasionally.  Barbie hair always seems to be out of control.  We set up this simple indoor play salon to help fix Barbies hair, and the girls loved it.

Did you know that on March 9, 1959, Barbie (Barbra Millicent Roberts) debuted at the American Toy Fair in New York City.  Who knew Barbie had a full name.  Happy Birthday Barbie.

How to Fix Barbie Hair ~ Set up a doll hair salon. My girls love this simple trick , and it totally works!

 This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

How to Fix Barbie Hair ~ Set up a Doll Hair Salon

As you can tell from one look at Ariel (decked out in Belle’s Dress), the barbies in our house are in need of some love.  After some quick research on line about how to care for barbie hair, we set up a little salon.

My girls love this simple trick , and it totally works!

How to Fix Barbie Hair ~ Set up a doll hair salon. My girls love this simple trick , and it totally works!

You will need:

  • A Barbie ~ or similar doll or my little pony
  • Barbie Hair Brush
  • Hot water (but not boiling)
  • Towel

First, brush your barbies hair the best that you can.  Then simply “dunk” her hair in really hot water for about 30 seconds and towel dry.  Now all you need to do is give your barbie a new hair style.

How to Fix Barbie Hair ~ Set up a doll hair salon. My girls love this simple trick , and it totally works!

Brush and style your barbies hair.  Once the hair is dry, the frizz and snarls will be gone.  OK, it’s not that magical but it will leave your barbies hair looking much, much better.

How to Fix Barbie Hair ~ Set up a doll hair salon. My girls love this simple trick , and it totally works!

Much better!

How to Fix Barbie Hair ~ Set up a doll hair salon. My girls love this simple trick , and it totally works!

I love how they are all lined up.  Bree is learning how to braid, and a captive audience like this is the perfect time to practice her budding skills.

How to Fix Barbie Hair ~ Set up a doll hair salon. My girls love this simple trick , and it totally works!

The barbies look so cute all dressed up and hair done.  Nothing like a trip to the salon to make a birthday special.

For more simple Indoor Play activities, check out our:

Polly Pocket Snow For Play

String Telephone

DIY Paper Climber

Minute To Win It #3

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Minute to Win it Game ~ Floatacious

Our kids love playing Minute To Win It games.  Tonight we decided to take the kids cup stacking skills to a new level.  Stacking cups can be difficult, but with the added twist of floating them on water upped the challenge.  Floatacious is our new favorite minute to win it game.

Minute to Win it Game ~ Floatacious

I love how cute she looks reaching for the top.

Floatacious Supplies:

  • A plastic plate
  • 5 empty soda cans ~ with the tabs removed
  • A large bowl filled with water right to the top.

Place the plate to the right of bowl, and place the cans to the left of bowl.  When clock starts, the player places plate on water’s surface in the bowl and begins stacking the cans.  To complete game, all 5 soda cans must be stacked on top of plate and remain standing for 3 seconds.  Simple, cheap and fun!  Love it!

Minute to Win it Game ~ Floatacious

Bree was so nervous the stack was going to tumble over before her 3 seconds were up.  (the can tower needs to stay stacked for 3 seconds once you have completed it)

Minute to Win it Game ~ Floatacious

Someone might be a bit over confident:)  Kaleb completed the challenge one handed, eating a dilly bar and under 45 seconds.  Way to go Kaleb!

For more Minute to Win It Games, check out our:

Cup Stacking ~ Stack Attack

Bite Me and Junk in the Trunk

Don’t Blow the Joker

Ready for Spring!

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I am so ready for spring.  I know that it is only March and I live in the Midwest, which means that winter may still be with me for many more weeks! However, I am SO ready for warmer weather!  As most of you know Christmas is my favorite holiday, so it would stand to reason that winter would be my favorite season.  Nope.  Winter is beautiful, but it seems to keep hanging on this year.  Just warming enough to tease me, then snowing once again.

Today it was beautiful outside.  The sun was shining and the ground was starting to get a bit squishy.  The kids were begging to get their bikes down, but that will have to wait for another day.  Instead we spent the day caring for our girls.  These little ladies have a pretty sweet set up.  The coup is heated and they have access to a large outside run.  The minor maintenance of changing the bedding is so worth the yummy eggs they give us!  

Marty has a bit of a sweet tooth and LOVES grapes.

The girls loved scratching around in the back yard.  I’m sure they were dreaming of spring too:)

Bree is our own little chicken whisperer.  She can be found cuddling and snuggling the girls any chance she gets.  Chickens might not be a “normal” city pet, but we love our urban girls!

I can’t wait til we start seeing the first signs of spring and I can begin digging in the gardens!  Are you as ready for spring as me and the girls?