Martha Stewart Kids' Craft Kits On Sale

I just wanted to let you know that Martha Stewart Kids' Craft Kits are on sale at Walmart. These kits were anywhere from 50 to 75% off. I'm looking forward to making birthday cards with O for upcoming birthdays, making the frames with O for the baby's room, and saving the puppet kit for a quick and easy craft for us to do together after the baby is born.

Handmade Thank You Cards

Last year we used O's gigantic chalkboard to make thank you notes, and this year we decided to make postcards. I cut pieces of cardstock in half and cut the corners with my corner rounder for a more finished look. I wrote the thank you messages on the cards and drew the address lines.


While I was at work, my mom read the thank you notes to O. O thought about the recipient, decided which color they would like best, and painted a picture on the front of the postcard. She was very thoughtful when painting her pictures, and I'm so proud of her.



Now I just have to gather addresses and send them out!

I Survived...

2 very long work days...leaving our house before 6:30 am and getting home a little after 6:30 pm. I am SO glad that I decided to start back to work at the same time as the other school psychologists as it has allowed me to be a part of the planning process for this year's procedures (they change EVERY year!). I would've been SO lost if I'd waited until October to go back to work. It was great to see all of my work friends, and I had time to run errands after work (while waiting for Elliott to get off work since we ride together). I went to the thrift store by my office for the 1st time since May, and that was very exciting. I bought too many children's books and a cute pair of gymboree shorts (for 50 cents). Today I found some great deals at Wal-mart (more on that later) and used a gift card that O was given for her 2nd birthday...oops! Meanwhile, O has had a GREAT time with Guh-guh, and Guh-guh has washed 9 loads of laundry!!!

I'm working on Monday, and I hope that Little Kicker will be born soon after that :) Then I'll only have 37 more days of work for the rest of the school year. Hooray!

How to Make an Air Blower...

O and I made an air blower on Tuesday for our weekly science project. To make an air blower, you need a ziploc bag, 3 or 4 sponges, a straw, and masking or duct tape. O put the sponges in the bag and put the straw between the sponges. We zipped the bag closed, and I taped it closed around the straw. Then we took turns hitting it with our hands and stepping on it to make it blow various objects. It works better with a shorter, straight straw.

We collected several objects from around the house and predicted whether or not they would move when blown. This was a fun and easy experiment :)

Vintage Bunny Baby Shoes

I cringed as I wrote "vintage" since these were MY baby shoes :) However, they are from the 70's (late 70's!), so I guess they may be considered vintage! I was SO excited when we found the 2nd shoe while cleaning my mom's house a few weeks ago. (we found the 1st shoe when O was a baby, and I've been hoping to find the 2nd one ever since.) My mom cleaned them with oxyclean, and they look brand new. I can't wait for Little Kicker to wear them. I think these shoes will probably go into a shadow box once she outgrows them :)

Back to Work

I'm going back to work today. At first I was a little excited about seeing my work friends again before the baby comes, but right now I'm just really tired and wondering how I'm going to make it through the next 13 hours until we are home again. Maybe the extra activity will motivate Little Kicker to come on out and meet us!

A Family Reunion Activity

We hosted our annual family reunion at our house this past weekend, and I don't think anyone was surprised that I had an activity planned for everyone :) I made a sign with the questions "Did you know...?" and "Do you remember...?" on a piece of cardstock along with blank notecards and markers that I put in a basket. I instructed everyone that each person was expected to write at least one notecard with a little known family fact or a family memory. O even wrote a card and read it to everyone. It said "O loves to read," (her version of this :) and she sang and danced as she sang "O loves to read" over and over again. I think my family was shocked that shy, quiet me has produced such an outgoing little performer :)

I was very surprised and pleased by how well received this activity was. Conversations were sparked when people were thinking about what to write, and further stories and memories were sparked when I read the cards after lunch. I plan to put the notecards in a scrapbook and add to it with new memories and facts each year. This activity was inspired by a similar activity in Family Fun magazine.

It's all about Location!

O is always more interested in her toys and activities if they are off her shelf and on a work surface. I rotate various items off of the shelf every few days or so, and put them on this work surface. She hadn't completed this puzzle in a LONG time, but as soon as she saw it on the work surface, she was ready to do it. She was so proud that she made all of the "humans" by herself :)

Decorating Onesies

For our last art project for on Saturday, O and M decorated onesies with fabric markers. I framed off a section of each onesie with masking tape and put a piece of cardboard beneath the top of the onesie. Then the girls started drawing with the fabric markers.

O wanted me to trace her hand on hers.

I need to iron the onesies to set the artwork, and then they'll be ready for the Little Kicker!

Art for Little Kicker

After the girls painted my belly, the girls and Guh-guh painted canvases for Little Kicker's room.

They had lots of fun, and I'm very happy with the results. I think Little Kicker will love them!

Belly Art

After we finished the belly cast, my sister thought we should paint my belly. That sounded like fun to me, so Melanie and the girls got to work! The girls were SO excited!!! They used the tempera paint that O has at her easel. Elliott and O wrote in the paint with their fingers :)

Belly Cast Fun!

We had lots of fun making a belly cast on Saturday afternoon :) It was a family event with my sister, mom, niece, bff, Elliott, and O participating. My niece was a little hesitant to get her hands covered in plaster, but O jumped right in. To make the belly cast, I bought a packet of rigid wrap plaster strips from Michael's (about 4.99). I cut them into 12 inch and 18 inch strips. My bff, EB, covered my big belly with Vaseline, and my sister soaked the strips in warm water before placing them on my belly. Then everyone smoothed the strips on my belly. I had to sit still for about 30 minutes after they finished until the cast was hard enough to remove. When Little Kicker is born, we'll take pictures of her in the belly cast. Once she's older, I'll let her decorate it :)

Fun with Straws

I had no idea that straws were so entertaining until my sister gave O a pack of straws for her birthday. O was THRILLED! She and my niece played with the straws for hours.
My niece made a straw and tape sculpture after she got home from vacation.

O has made many straw creations, but her favorite is her "unihorn." She walks around the house blowing into the straws like they are a horn. She said she has to be very careful because her unihorn is special :)

Painting with Bubbles

Painting with bubbles has been on my to-do list since last summer. I was so glad when Jo posted about this activity recently which reminded me to go ahead and do it! We used bubble solution that we already had and added food coloring. We then used our various bubble blowers and wands to blow bubbles onto cardstock. Our pictures didn't turn out nearly as nice as Ebi-Kun's, but we had a lot of fun!

DIY Moon Sand or How to Make a Mess!

After seeing the directions for making Moon Sand on Skip to my Lou, I decided we should try it. We used 9 cups of play sand (from Lowe's), 3 cups of cornstarch, and around 2 and a half to 3 cups of water.
1st O and Ell poured the sand into the container (we were so happy to have Elliott join us with this project!)


Then the cornstarch


Mixing it all together


They added the colored bubble solution to the sand :)


And here is the mess! If you don't like a mess, DON'T make moon sand! By the time she was finished playing, O was covered from head to toe in moon sand. Elliott dipped her in the lake to clean her off :)