Turning Workbooks into Reusable Workbooks

O LOVES her wipe-off workbooks! I saw a laminated maze book months ago on a blog and planned to make one for O. I never got around to doing it, and then I saw the idea to use plastic page protectors to turn workbooks into wipe-off workbooks on Muses of Megret.

What a great idea and SO much faster, easier, and cheaper than printing and laminating each page! I found several fun workbooks, including a book of mazes for around 3 dollars each (at Walmart). I put each page into a page protector and put them into a binder. I added in a zipper pouch with washable wipe-off markers and a small felt eraser, and O was ready to work! This saves so much money and paper since O likes to do the same pages over and over again. Also, Little Kicker will be able to use the same books in a few years!

Shannon at Teaching My Little Bookworm also recently posted about turning workbooks into reusable workbooks!

Fun with Goop!

O and I had fun making goop last weekend! She loves anything messy, and I thought ahead and made the goop down by the lake which made clean-up VERY easy :) To make goop we mixed cornstarch and water. It works better to use equal parts water and cornstarch, but O insisted on adding much too much water. That was ok...it still worked, and we had fun. We also added in food coloring. We started with yellow and blue to make green. Then she added in red and green and ended up with brown. Eventually, she took the goop down to the beach and experimented with adding sand to the mixture. We were both excited when Elliott joined in on our fun with goop!

On-the-Go Clothesline

After seeing this clothesline set on Etsy, I knew it was something I wanted to make for O (she needs to practice hanging her baby doll clothes since I'm expecting her to help me hang Little Kicker's diapers once she arrives :).

To make this set, I cut a piece of yarn and tied a wooden bead to each end. Done! I gave it to O with 9 (all that I could find) clothes pins and a bag for storage. I wouldn't recommend using yarn since it's already broken. Also, she is closely supervised when playing with this since the clothesline is a potential strangulation hazard.


O was thrilled to tie the clothesline between her chairs and hang her baby doll clothes on it. She has been playing "baby dolls" contantly these last few weeks, so this was perfect for her :)

One Year Ago Today...

we found out we were expecting our 2nd child. We were excited, but also feeling a little disbelief. Everything was going according to our plan, and we were so happy. Elliott even said that things were working out so perfectly that it scared him. He was afraid something bad would happen. Sadly, he was right. We will forever miss our lost baby. Even as we excitedly prepare for Little Kicker's arrival, the baby we lost will always be in our hearts and minds.

Embroidered Dolls

My mom and I have accomplished many projects while waiting for Little Kicker to arrive. I was so happy that she made the dolls that I embroidered months ago into doll pillows for the girls. Thanks, Mom! The patterns for all 3 dolls came from Wee Wonderfuls. The patterns were much smaller than I imagined, but that was fine...I just enlarged them and traced over the enlargements with an iron-on transfer pencil, and we were good to go :)

The Kindness of Strangers...

never ceases to amaze me! Mrs. Cuddles emailed me a few weeks ago and said that she would like to gift me with cloth diapers and covers. These diapers and covers arrived a few days ago. Several are new, and ALL of them are adorable! I am stunned and inspired by her generosity and giving spirit. Thank you, Mrs. Cuddles!!!

Transferring Ice Cubes in Water

O REALLY enjoyed this transferring activity! I gave her a slotted spoon to transfer the plastic star ice cubes from the bowl of water to an empty bowl. She transferred the clear stars first, then the blue stars, and then the pink stars. She was very focused and worked carefully. I'm sure we'll do this activity again soon!

The star ice cubes came from the dollar section at Target.

Rain Gutter Bookshelves

We recently made rain gutter bookshelves for O's room and Little Kicker's room. O enjoyed helping! I first saw the rain gutter bookshelves in Family Fun magazine years and years ago, and then saw them again on Ohdeedoh. I decided these would be the perfect shelves for Little Kicker's room.

The shelves were easy to make and look great. I love that the books are facing outward, and the shelf takes up very little room which is important since the closet door opens to this wall.

To make the shelves, we bought vinyl rain gutters from Lowes. They are sold in 10 foot sections, and Lowes said they would NOT cut them for us. They wouldn't fit in our car unless they were cut, so my mom, O, and I walked around the store until we found someone who looked nice. I asked very nicely if they could PLEASE cut the gutters so they would fit in our car, and the guy made an exception. Phew! In addition to the rain gutters, we bought right and left caps for each end and 2 brackets for each shelf. Elliott and his dad cut the rain gutters into 2 and a half foot lengths. They put the brackets and end caps onto the gutters and used sheetrock screws to attach the brackets to the wall. Then they were done! Fast and easy! We had two 5 feet sections leftover, so we put one of each on O and Little Kicker's walls.

When I asked O if she wanted a shelf on her wall, she said "kinda...no." She changed her mind after she saw how good it looked :)

3 Years Old...Interview

I decided it would be a good idea to interview O about every 6 months. I think it will be fun to see how her answers change as she grows. I used a lot of the sentence starters from the Mother's Day Interview, and then I just asked her questions as I came up with them. If you can think of anymore questions, I'd love to ask her more. This was really fun, and she enjoyed it too :)



I feel happy when...we love you.

I feel sad when...my mother doesn't play with me. (I play with her ALL the time!)

I like to...read.

My daddy is... sweet.

My mama is... sweet.

I love to...read books.

My favorite color is...blue.

I like to eat...prunes.

I like to play...games.

My favorite toy is...choca-loca (an imaginary toy).

It makes me happy when...you hug me.

It makes me sad when...you don't hug me.

I feel frustrated when...my mother doesn't play with me.

I really like it when...you play with me.

The best thing I do is...flip.

I'm excited about...when I go to dance school.

I love me because...you love me.

I like to go...in the boat.

I don't like to...not rock.

What are your favorite things to do? read, dance, build, fix boats, make shoes (she says she makes shoes for her baby dolls)

What was the best thing about your birthday party? sliding

What's your favorite song? Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

What's your favorite school activity? making calendar

What's your favorite art activity? making paper boats

What's the best part about being 3 years old? painting, coloring, God made us

Do you love taking naps? kinda yes

What are you going to name your sister? Pop

How do you think she'll feel about that? not very good

What are you going to do with your sister when she gets here? make sure she's fun, make sure she has fun with her paci

Visual Stimulation/Texture Wall

The idea for this visual stimulation/texture wall for Little Kicker's room has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I'm glad to finally have it finished and on the wall.
To make the wall, I put fabrics of various prints and textures in embroidery hoops. We covered a stretched canvas with a white sheet and stapled it to the back of the canvas. We attached the embroidery hoops with embroidery thread. I wanted the hoops to be easily removable so that I can take the hoops down for Little Kicker to see and feel. I also plan to change the fabric fairly often.

An Easy Handmade Bubble Blower

O and I recently made a bubble blower out of straws and tape. We gathered a bunch of straws together and wrapped a piece of masking tape around them to hold them together. That's it! We dipped it in the bubble solution, blew, and made hundreds of tiny bubbles :) We've had LOTs of fun with this bubble blower! The idea for this activity came from Family Fun magazine.

My Lake Girl

O's newest job is to pull the rope in after anyone skis or rides on a float. She is SO proud that she can do this all by herself. She's becoming more and more independent everyday, and she loves having "jobs" to do!

A Baby Wrap for O

My mom made a wrap for me, and since we had lots of leftover fabric, she made one for O, too! O was very excited!

To make the wrap for me, mom cut 5 yards of cotton interlock fabric into a strip about 20 inches wide. Super simple! To make O's, we just wrapped it around her to get the correct length and cut off the excess. I'm REALLY looking forward to wearing Little Kicker in the wrap. With O, I used a ring sling, pouch sling, baby bjorn, and a beco, so this will be a new experience for me. I hope I can figure out how to do it...it seems a little complicated :)

Water Play

O had a fantastic time playing with this tub full of water this morning. We added in red and blue food coloring that she mixed together to make purple and soap to make bubbles. We did a few sink/float experiments, made a boat for her "waterproof people," practiced using a baster, poured lots of water, used slotted spoons to remove corks and plastic ice cubes, washed baby dolls, etc. This was a great activity for a hot morning!

Fun with Shaving Cream & Food Coloring

O had a FANTASTIC time playing with shaving cream and food coloring yesterday! She loves activities that involve smearing things and making a mess, so this was perfect for her :) To do this activity, I sprayed a bunch of shaving cream into a baking dish and added a little bit of water. O played with the shaving cream for a little while, and then we added in the food coloring. She wanted green, so I put blue on one side and yellow on the other side, and she mixed them to make green. We continued adding colors and the mixture worked it's way up her arms to her face and all over her tummy :)

We did this activity at the kitchen counter, and I was relieved to find out that O is not too big for a bath in the kitchen sink!