Saturday, April 21, 2012

Weekend Kid Craft! Crayon Resist Water Color!

A few weeks ago we tried a new project...
Crayon Resist Water Color!

It's super fun and its actually what we turned into our Easter Cards!

If you are not familiar with the method here is how you do it!


Step One: Write or draw on the paper with crayon. You can use white crayon or colors... (try telling a three year old not to use color...)


Step Two: Paint over the crayon with watercolor paints in a thin even coat. Or in a mess of colors and thickness...

Step Three: Sit back and admire your art!

So this is what Delaney and I did for Easter, and then I turned them into cards which you could do for any event or holiday really...


I just folded a piece of paper in half, had Delaney trace her name on the inside with the greeting and on the other half I traced an egg shape, cut it out, and glued her painting along the edges to the front of the card but if you were doing it for a birthday or even just a thinking about you card for a family member you could cut out a flower shape hole or even just a rectangle.... either way your showing off your child's art and when looking at that what family member is going to care about the shape on the front???


Total this project took up maybe 2 hours of our time (including waiting for paint to dry and me cutting out the hole in the cards but if you have older kids they could do that themselves too!) We of course had the paper and crayons on hand (not sure there is a toddler house out there without crayons in it...) and while we did have the kids water colors on hand you can usually get them for fairly cheap at the dollar store or the craft store! (note: It has to be Water Color Paint regular craft paint is too thick and will just cover your crayon drawing.)

Give it a try and let me know how yours turned out! Id love to hear about your adventures in Water Color Painting with your kids!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Photo Friday! SPRING!

Spring has begun to... well spring up all around us!

So I thought I'd share how spring is looking through my lens...


These pretty purple wild flowers are growing in our "garden" I say "garden" because lets face it its a patch of rocky dirt in our back yard... but with that said I can see them from our kitchen window and just seeing something growing puts a smile on my face... and purple always reminds me of my mom and how can you hold back a smile when you think about your momma!


This is... I don't know what this is.... (I am so not a gardener!) but whatever it is, is growing in my mom-in-laws garden. (she SO is a gardener!) It was the first bud that Delaney saw this spring and it made her very happy to tell me that she discovered it!


Happy Friday and I hope that spring is springing up all around you too!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Tell The Truth Thursday! I NEED sleep!

I am not one of those mothers who can run on very little sleep...

You know how they tell you that after the birth of your child you will be better able to get up in the middle of the night for feedings and you will be better able to deal with less sleep and that you will be fine because of the hormone changes and such....

LIES! ALL LIES!

Well for me anyway...

I am not one of the mommies that deals well with anything that requires me to loose sleep, I get cranky, I get snippy and I get stupid....

Yes I know that doesn't sound right but I do... I get stupid!

Which is why its hard for me to post when I get little sleep, why its hard for me to do anything productive, why its hard for me to be... well ME...

So while Max is teething and waking up multiple times each night I ask that you be patient with this stupid Momma as I make spelling and punctuation errors and while I post late on some if not all days...

As sorry as I am to say it my TRUTH this week is that I am not Super Momma right now... but rather  I am Stupid Momma!



Do you run well with little sleep? What are your tricks and secrets to living life on limited sleep? Share with me PLEASE!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Working Out Wednesday! Butt Buster Muscle Move!

It another amazing Working Out Wednesday!

So last week I promised an awesome Butt Buster Muscle Move and since I am usually very reliable... here I am to deliver!

My Favorite Butt Buster is one that you can do just about anywhere... you may not want to to it everywhere but you could...

Its the simple and standard SQUAT!

Doing squats will work your bum, and almost all the muscles in your legs. Its a great simple exercise that will tone and lengthen your muscles plus you can make small adjustments that will help you target other areas as well!

Squats are basically bending your knees and pushing your bum out... it almost looks like you are sitting down in a chair.

There are some basic safety concerns that you want to focus on as your doing squats...
Keeping your back straight  make sure that your knees are lined up with your ankles and when you bend your knees that they shouldn't protrude over your toes. 

Modifying squats is easier than you think...
You can widen your stance to shift the focus to the inner and outer thigh.

And you can of course add the weight of your choice top make it a bit more taxing on your body... and what weight is more accessible than your CHILD!
(sorry about the fuzzy photo when your husband says he will take your photos while you do blog stuff sometimes you just have to take what you can get.)

TRAINER TIP: Working squats in as part of your regular daily routine can be easy too... try to do one squat for each piece of clothing you fold as you tackle the mountain of laundry that your family creates daily or as you watch TV with your kids do one squat for every-time one of the characters says something that they would repeat regularly like the main characters name or where they are going... because we all know there is a certain little girl and her monkey friend can hardly resist telling us 500 times!

Working a few squats into your day can not only do wonders for your behind but also for your mind! It will refocus you as you take a minute to do something for yourself and as you take a minute to leave the stress of raising kids to put that energy into fitness!

Happy Wednesday and Happy Workout!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

TIME OUT!

I've had issues with time out lately...

Mostly because I used to send Delaney to her room for time out but now that Max naps in his crib and they share a room it doesn't really make any sense to send a screaming crying girl to Time Out next to a baby who is enjoying a quiet restful nap.

So for months I have been scouring every Thrift Store and Sally Ann I can find looking for a nice sturdy three legged wooden stool to paint and make pretty for Time Out....

AND

No such luck!

So I lowered my standards and went with just a plain white stool I picked up at the dollar store for 2 bucks (you know I love a deal!!!)


And I went about painting it up and making it a proper Time Out spot!


My sister says "only you can make punishment pretty!" but if it has to sit out in plain view all the time why not have a pretty spot to sit!

Once I was happy with how "pretty" it was I put it in our new time out spot!


Our only worry now is disturbing the cat...

How do you deal with Time Out?