Sneak peek + confession

A sneak peek at the latest project I've been working on. 

It's a gift so I can't post the finished product till later (plus its not finished yet). I spent four hours working on it this morning. I'm not the kind of parent to pop my kid in front of the tv, as a general  rule I strive to not do that. But thank goodness for a good Disney movie to keep my daughter distracted. Sometimes  rules are made to be broken. :-)

Do you have an example of a parenting rule that you have broken?

The Minions are coming!

My daughter loved the first Despicable Me movie and has been asking (begging) to see the 2nd movie. I wasn't willing to spend the money on a trip to the movies today but a minion craft was received with much excitement! I checked Pintrest and the web but Minion inspired crafts were few and far between so I decided to make my own.

Supplies: 

blue, yellow, and black construction paper

scissors

goggly eyes

marker

glue

popsicle sticks

Step 1:

Cut several rectangular shape with rounded edges.

Trace and cut a piece of blue to cover the bottom 1/3.

Cut two small rectangles.

Step 2:

Glue the "pants" on the Minion. 

Add the overall straps.

Use a marker to add the button on the overall strap.

Add eye(s).

Even my husband couldn't resist participating in this craft.

Step 3:

Use marker to add goggles, hair, or other accessories.

Add arms and legs by using scraps of paper to cut hands, arms, feet, and legs.

Step 4:

Put glue on popsicle stick and attach to back of Minion.

Now you have your very own group of Minions to do your bidding! 

What fun crafts have you come up with? 

Leaping and learning

Beautiful day outside today, time to break out the chalk (and sneak in a little education too!)

We started with a regular hopscotch but I decided that hopping up to ten was too easy. I've been working with my daughter to get up to 20 but she was getting confused in the teen numbers. So a new game was born "Froggy Hop Fun".

I made round "lily pads" in a random pattern a then colored in the surrounding areas in blue "water". I numbered the lily pads up to 20 and told my daughter to hop like a frog without getting wet and say the numbers out loud. 

Frog Hop Count Fun

My daughter jumped on two feet instead of one foot. Either can be done depending on the age and skill level of your child. You can also change the numbers. You can count even numbers or odd numbers. You can count by 10's. You could even work on spelling words!

Added a frog to the number pond!

There are lots of studies out there that prove any time you can combine movement and learning the information sticks in you mind better. Use this as a fun way to help your kids learn and get some exercise!


Happy Hopping!

What fun ways do yo help your child learn?

Free onions

Did you know you can get free onions! (Well you do have to grow them.)

In the spring and buy a package of 200 onion bulbs for a $1.99 and plant them in my garden because I love having green onions. They require very little care to grow, just occasional water if there us a dry spell, and then you just pull them up when you want them. These cost pennies a piece compared to the 10 for a $1 pay for at the store.

Here is the free part: Chop off the ends (roots plus 1/2 an inch to 3/4 of an inch) and replant them right back out I the garden. 

Just use your thumb to make a one inch hole, insert the onion roots down, cover with dirt, water, and walk away.

In a few weeks time you'll have another set of green onions!

*Note: Green onions are very hardy. If you don't have a garden bed you can also grow them in a container on your deck backyard as long as they plenty of sunlight.

Do you know any other good garden tricks?

Delicious and healthy dinner

After a week of "not so healthy eating " I am back on track and eating well.

Tonight we had grilled talapila and spinach salad. I was craving something more so I added some fresh chunks of orange and tossed the spinach and a tbsp of poppyseed dressing.

Delicious! Give it a try, it is crisp, juicy, refreshing, and healthy!

What's your favorite light and healthy summer meal?