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!

O's Dance Bag

When we signed O up for tap/ballet classes last week her teacher told us she would need a dance bag. My first inclination was to make a drawstring bookbag with an embroidered ballerina or fairy on it. Then I remembered that I'm almost 38 weeks pregnant and feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and a little irritable. I decided to take the easy way out and applique DANCE onto a canvas bag from Hobby Lobby. This bag was quick and easy to make, and O was thrilled.

O now thinks that all bags should have words on them...she took her bag with a stethoscope and "shotmaker" (syringe) with us to my midwife appointment yesterday (for her baby dolls), and she said it should say "nurse" on it :)

See more on my applique obsession here, here, here, here, and here.

Breakfast Cupcakes :)

We haven't had a "Muffin Tin Monday" in a very long time, but I almost always fix O's breakfast in these silicone cupcake liners. She loves it, and it's fun :) On this particular morning, she had Honeycomb, peaches, watermelon, and blueberries. She also had a cup of yogurt and a refill of her watermelon cups.

Paper Clip/Craft Foam Color Match

We've done several paper clip color match activities, and this is the most recent one. The idea for this activity came from another blog, and as usual I can't find it on my starred items on google reader (that is what happens when you have over 800 starred items!). To make the color match activity, I cut strips of craft foam and hooked them together using a brad. I showed O how to match the paper clips to the craft foam by sliding them onto the foam strips.


This activity was very difficult for O because the craft foam is very bendy. I will probably remake this activity for her using cardstock.

Seashell Sailboats

O and I recently had fun making seashell sailboats to float in the lake. She put a ball of playdough in each shell (we used our homemade chocolate playdough) while I cut the sails out of craft foam. I stuck a toothpick through each sail, and she stuck the toothpick in the playdough. We also made a few boats using bottle tops. Most of the boats did not float...we used too much playdough :) Also, it would have worked better with clay. The playdough dried out and fell out of the shells. The idea for this activity came from Family Fun magazine. The boats we made last summer out of sponges and straws worked MUCH better :)

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!