May 17, 2016 by Krista

Top Ten Things To Do With Your Kids This Summer

Hey, I’m so glad you stopped by today!

What time of the year is it for you? Here, Summer is getting closer and closer. Which means my boys will be home. All my boys. All. Day. Long. I’ve discovered the best way to get through the long summer days is to have a plan. A fun plan!

With all the fun we’ll be having around here, we need to keep our energy up! Between my three boys and my husband, some one is eating AT ALL TIMES. But we can’t be tied down to the kitchen! There’s too much to do, too much fun to have. And, frankly, I get tired of cleaning it all day long.

We reach for Mott’s® products a lot around here. I love the quality and that they have options to take snacks with us on the go. One of our favorites is the new cherry apple juice. It’s such a delicious treat and pairs perfectly with lunch.

We also love the applesauce cups and the squeeze pouches are perfect when we’re going out. The occasional treat is great and we love Mott’s® fruit snacks for that. They are pretty much a staple in our diaper bag for church. They help keep my boys quiet, which is a huge feat all on it’s own!

Mott’s® keeps up fueled up and running all through our summer fun! I love that they have boxtops on them too! Extra bonus for my kids’ school and products I already love?! Yes, please!

So, are you looking for some fun to schedule into your summer plans. Take a look at these fun projects and see which ones your kids would love to try out!

10 FUN THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR KIDS THIS SUMMER

1. Egg Toss Painting. Because sometimes it’s okay to throw eggs! This is tons of fun and super easy to clean up! Plus you get a fun piece of art when your finished.

2. Cardboard Box Cars. A great upcycle for empty boxes! You can spend an afternoon making the cars and then play with them until they fall apart. We have a fun “drive-in” movie night and my boys watched the movie in their cars. They loved it!

3. Sun catchers. These are fun and so versatile. We made some for autumn and then did it again with valentine’s hearts. It’s a great project for those crayon stubs, but definitely needs adult supervision.

4. Make cookies. We love to make cookies. My boys don’t have a big attention span, so a package mix is perfect. They get to help dump the ingredients in. By the time they are no longer interested it’s time to put them on a pan and bake them. It’s perfect. And delicious!

5. Preschool Olympics day. With the Olympics coming up, this could be a fun way to introduce it to your kids. This is a fun activity to introduce the Olympic rings. Throw in an obstacle course, run a race or two or do some water races and you have the perfect summer afternoon.

6. Make Sparkle bottles. These are fun to make and almost as much fun to watch. But, they can be a bit messy. If you can, make them outside. You’ll also need to help with the hot water part. The kids love to pick the colors for their bottles and watching the glitter fall is super relaxing.

7. Building with marshmallows. This is so fun! We did this as an activity for the little kids for a movie night we had. It was the perfect distraction when they got bored and wanted to run around. It was amazing to see what they came up with. Such a fun sensory and imagination-building activity!

8. Science projects. We love to do science projects! You could do a whole afternoon of projects or make some fun goop to play with.

9. Put together a boredom buster jar with some craft sticks and pretty washi tape. Write down all the fun things you want to do this summer and then pull them out when you need an activity or distraction.

Or for an even easier activity, check out this fun printable version. All you have to do is print, cut it out and fold them up and put them in a jar for the next time the kids start bickering or pull out the dreaded “I’m bored!”

10. Headed out on some road trips this summer? Check out these fun ideas to keep your toddlers busy and happy while you’re on the road. Or maybe you have preschoolers? Here’s some ideas to help keep preschoolers busy too!

But, that’s not all! Mott’s® is having a contest and YOU COULD WIN $100 e-gift card to Walmart! It’s super easy to enter. Here’s what to do:

Take a photo and make a post on Twitter and/or Instagram and share why you think is your perfect health partner – include the hashtag: #MottsMoments and #sweepstakes
Register: CLICK HERE to register with your Instagram/Twitter handle and name/email
Get Lucky! The lucky winners will win a $100 e-gift card to Walmart!

Tell me, what do you think of new Mott’s® Apple Cherry Juice? You can find it at Walmart! And don’t forget to enter for your chance to win a $100 e-gift card to Walmart!!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mott’s®. The opinions and text are all mine.

May 11, 2016 by Krista

Egg Throw Painting

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #allEssentials #CollectiveBias

WELCOME! I’m so glad you’re here!

Do you let your kids be kids, even when they get messy and their clothes get dirty? Do you have the confidence that you’ll be able to get those clothes clean again?

With three boys in our house, things get messy. In fact, things are pretty much always messy. There’s an endless supply of dirty dishes, toys on the floor and the laundry… oh, the laundry. There’s so much laundry. And these aren’t just dirty clothes, they are rough-and-tumble, explore-the-world, stains-on-everything kind of dirty.

But it’s important to me for my kids to have the chance to explore and have adventures. This world is so amazing and I want my kids to discover that. I want them to play with bugs and make mud pies and climb rocks and trees.

I need a laundry detergent that can keep up with my family. I know that my kids can play and explore and I can handle any stains they might pick up on their adventures.

And that’s where all® Fresh Clean Essentials™ Fragrance Free comes into play in our house. This new detergent is sulfate free and gives a powerful clean without the harshness. I love to use sulfate free shampoos – they leave my hair feeling clean and strong. I knew I had to try this detergent on the adventures that my boys wear on their clothes. I love that my boys can be rough and tumble kids and I can let all® Essentials™ worry about getting their clothes clean again!

With my active boys, I have to find active and creative ways to get them to practice learning games. Little N is starting to learn colors and it’s good review for Little J too. And we couldn’t leave Big J out of all the fun. Because throwing eggs is naughty and sometimes it’s fun to be naughty!

EGG THROW PAINTING

Materials:
– 12 eggs
– Pair of scissors
– bottle with a narrow neck
– toothpick
– container for the eggs
– paint (I like to use washable paint, because, well I’m not completely crazy)
– canvas or poster boards
– plastic drop cloths for super easy clean up

Directions:
1. Empty the eggs by poking a hole approximately the size of a dime in one end of the egg with the tip of the scissors. Gently tap the scissors on the egg until it breaks. Use your finger to clean the cracked egg shell out of the hole. If the membrane in the egg didn’t break, pierce it with a toothpick.

2. Tip the egg so it sits on the mouth of the bottle with the hole pointed down into the bottle.

3. Gently tap a hole in the other side of the egg. This doesn’t need to be a big hole, but you do need to break the membrane.

4. Blow into the hole you just made in the egg to push the egg yolk and white into the bottle.

5. Wash out the egg shell and set it to dry in the carton. You don’t have to let the shells dry, but your paint will be a little runnier if you don’t.

6. Fill the eggs with a tablespoon or more of paint. The more paint, the bigger the splatter and the cooler the effect. Also, the bigger the mess. But it’s super easy to clean up. I suggest washable paint, just to make things easier.

7. Lay the plastic drop cloths out over your work area. I definitely suggest doing this outside, but if you’re super brave you can try it in the shower. Or the garage maybe. It would be pretty easy to clean it up in either of those spots.

*Optional Step: you can let your kids put stickers or spell out their name with tape on the canvas. After they throw their eggs and the paint dries, remove the stickers or tape and you’re left with some cool negative space art.

8. Set the canvases or posters up on the drop cloth. I found that hanging the drop cloth on the fence and then setting the canvases up against the fence worked out well. You can lay them flat too. The paint will have more of a splatter pattern without the drips. This is good if you have a little one that isn’t very consistent with throwing yet. They can drop the eggs instead. The biggest thing is to make sure there is something solid behind your canvases.

9. We did this one at a time, because I was trying to get photos, but it would’ve been more fun to do it all at once. Pandemonium is fun, right?! You’ll want your kids to stand close enough to hit their canvas each time they throw an egg. We found the eggs were actually much harder to break than expected. Which meant we could throw each egg multiple times, and that was fun.

10. Let your kids throw the paint-filled eggs at their canvas. We used a dozen eggs and each boy got 4 eggs. You can let them use a paint brush (or their fingers!) after they’ve thrown their eggs to finish off their masterpiece if they want.

11. Let the paint dry. Display your little painters’ works of art.

Clean up is as simple as throwing the drop cloth in the trash and a load of laundry in the washer.

I love knowing that with all® Fresh Clean Essentials™, my kids and I can do these messy projects together. And it’s super easy to get it online at Walmart.com! I can focus on having fun and being in the moment, not worrying about if I’m going to be able to get their laundry clean. And I’d much rather make memories than worries.

Check out more fun ways to let your kids be kids and get their clothes clean again with all® Fresh Clean Essentials™.

April 28, 2016 by Krista

Better-for-You Snacking on-the-go

Hey, there! I’m happy you’re here!

Let’s talk about snacking. It can be hard to make good snacking choices when life is busy, right?

You’re a busy go-getter, bouncing from running errands to play dates for the kids and then on to piano, dance, soccer and that meeting at the kids’ school.

Or maybe you’re chasing a toddler and balancing a newborn between keeping the household smoothly running.

What about work responsibilities? Maybe there’s a day job in there somewhere. Or you work from home. And being a stay-at-home mom is definitely work too!

Add in your other activities, meetings, and schedules for the whole family; things get crazy quick!

SNACKING FOR MORE ENERGY

You need energy to keep up with your kids, work, life! And snacking can be a great way to do that.

If you make good snack choices.

It can be really easy (and delicious) to reach for candy and other junk. But it won’t give you the energy you need. You need quick and easy, grab-and-go snack options!

You’re in luck! I’ve done the work of figuring out what to eat! I’m going to share ten better-for-you, take on-the-go snack options for you AND the kids!

BETTER-FOR-YOU, ON-THE-GO SNACK OPTIONS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

We like to pair our snacks with Capri Sun Organic juice drinks.

1. Apple slices and peanut butter

2. Cucumber spears and fat-free ranch dip

3. Fruit salad
4. Veggies and hummus

5. Tortilla roll-ups
6. Pita strips and hummus

7. Graham crackers with peanut butter and bananas

8. Whole-grain crackers with fat-free cream cheese and a veggie slice

9. Meat and cheese spears

10. Avocado deviled eggs

It’s important to me that my family eats a balanced diet, even when we’re really busy. Snacks I can take on-the-go are a must-have in our household. I love that all of those snacks can be made ahead of time, stored in the fridge or cupboard and eaten when hunger strikes.

My kids are impatient and want snacks NOW. By having better-for-you options ready to go, they are more likely to choose better snacks. And they still feel like they get to choose their snacks – not me. It’s much less of a fight when my kids make the choice to eat better snacks.

Capri Sun Organic offers a great drink option for better-for-you snacking. Capri Sun Organic is way to give your kids the taste they love with a simpler ingredient list. Sweetened with 66% fruit juice and no artificial flavors, preservatives or colors, Capri Sun Organic is a wholesome drink option you can feel good about. Each pouch has a full serving of fruit* and provides 100% recommended daily value Vitamin C. And there are four great flavors to choose from: Tropical Punch, Fruit Punch, Apple and Grape.

Capri Sun Organic fits into busy schedules perfectly. They are perfect for picnics, day trips, road trips, and on-the-go snacking. Kids love them; they taste great and are the perfect size for little hands to hang on to. Parents love them; the ingredients are simple and few. Let Capri Sun Organic help you on your way to better-for-you snacking!

*Each pouch provides 1/2 cup of fruit juice, which is one serving of fruit according to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

February 11, 2016 by Krista

Truth or Dare: Couple’s Edition

We don’t do big Valentine’s Day outing plans, because our anniversary is 6 days before, but we still like to do a little something. We like to spend time together and that’s usually the gift we try to give each other. We’ve also been together for (almost) 8 years. While things are still amazing, we like to spice things up from time to time. Something along the lines of intimacy we actually make time for, not a quick encounter we squeezed between homework and dinner preparations or as we’re both tired and crawling zombie-like into bed. Truth or Dare: Couple’s Edition is the little game I came up with for us to play this Valentine’s Day.

TRUTH OR DARE: COUPLE’S EDITION

The preparation on this is incredibly simple. You just have to print and cut. Seriously, that’s all there is to it.

Materials:
– Truth or Dare Download Cards (Disclaimer: You’ll have to click through the link to see the cards. Given the intimate nature of some of them, I haven’t included a photo of them in this post. If you want to check them out, just click the link.)
– Paper Cutter or Scissors

Directions:
– Download the game cards and save the file to your computer.

– Print the Truth or Dare Cards. The link above is to the trial pack of cards. You’ll get 16 cards to try out the game with. If you like it, you can get the full game from my Etsy shop. Not all the cards you see in the photos are included in the free download.

You’ll want to print the cards double sided; and, if you can print them on card stock, that’ll be even better. My printer has a two-side print setting, which eliminates the guess work of re-orienting the paper in the tray to print the back side. If you have that feature, use it! It’ll be so much easier for you!

If you don’t want to print the cards at home, you can have them printed locally almost anywhere you can make copies – I’m thinking office supply and copy stores. After you download the file to your computer you can upload it to whatever site you decide to get it printed from.

– Cut the cards apart with a paper cutter or scissors.

You are now ready to play!

PLAYING TRUTH OR DARE: COUPLE’S EDITION

If you’ve never played Truth or Dare before, here’s the rules. One player draws a card and asks the other player “truth or dare?” The other player chooses if they would like to answer a question in total honesty or perform a dare. The first player reads which ever option the second player chose. The second player then answers the question or performs the dare. Then players switch roles and the second player draws a card and asks “truth or dare?” and play repeats as many times as you want.

Some helpful tips for a game you’ll both enjoy:
– This is something you’re gonna want to set aside some time for. It could be some good organized foreplay.
– Stop whenever you want… to finish other things. The idea is to spend some one-on-one with your sweetie.
– The only change to the original rules I would make would be to encourage you to look through the cards and make sure you’re both comfortable with everything. In the original rules, truths are usually embarrassing and dares are usually embarrassing and/or dangerous. The bedroom is not the place to try to embarrass your partner. Make sure you both feel comfortable with the game or it won’t be enjoyable!

WANT MORE TRUTH OR DARE: COUPLE’S EDITION?

If you want more dares and more questions, I have an expanded version of the game in my Etsy shop. There is a blank template included so you can write in your own questions and dares to make the game totally your own. There’s even a box you can put together to store your game in. So, if you’re looking for a quick and super easy gift idea, check out my TRUTH OR DARE: COUPLE’S EDITION in my Etsy shop.

February 3, 2016 by Krista

How to Create Your Own “Between the Sheets” Bedroom Game

Hey! I’m so glad you’re here! Are you looking for a steamy at-home date night? Who isn’t, amiright?

Well, you’re in the right place, because this date night is all about hot and steamy. It’s perfect for anniversary celebrations, especially if you’re on a tight budget. Hey, romance ain’t dead, even if the money tree is bare.

I had planned to do this Between the Sheets Bedroom Game date night on Christmas Eve, but that didn’t work out. And I had a terrible time getting my hands on a gift for Mr. Napping this past Christmas – three different gifts fell though – and I ended up giving him our Between the Sheets Bedroom Game.

We played one night shortly after he got it and it was a magical night, indeed. You can check out how I set up our date at the link above. Today, I’m going to walk you through making your own Between the Sheets DIY Bedroom Game.

Disclaimer: If hot and steamy is not what you’re looking for, you might want to skip this post ’cause we’re about to fog up the windows…

BETWEEN THE SHEETS
DIY BEDROOM GAME

Materials you need to create your own Between the Sheets Bedroom Game:

Fitted Sheet – it should fit your bed and be a light color
Fabric Markers – these are the kind I used
Plastic drop cloth – a precaution in protecting your mattress
Something you can use as a template – I traced a dinner plate and a saucer on pieces of cardstock, cut them out and used the cardstock templates as my pattern to create spaces on my game board.

Directions for creating your own Between the Sheets Bedroom Game

1. Lay out the plastic drop cloth on your undressed bed. This will protect your mattress from any bleed through from the markers. I didn’t have any issues with that, but I figured I’d take a better safe than sorry approach. If you don’t lay down the drop cloth, and the markers bleed through onto your mattress, I’m definitely gonna say I told you so.
2. Pull the fitted sheet, over the drop cloth, onto your bed.
3. Decide what to use as a template for your game board spaces. I just traced one of our dinner plates and a saucer onto pieces of paper. You can get fancy if you want, but I just went with simple circles.

4. Use the fabric markers to trace the template on to the sheet, creating a path from the top of the sheet to the bottom. I had four rows of spaces on my board. I made a little trail of dots from one space to the next so we didn’t get lost.

5. Now comes the fun, and hard, part: filling in the spaces. This is where you can personalize it to your relationship. Get as risque and steamy as you are comfortable with. Shortly after we got married, Mr. Napping and I discovered that both our love languages are physical touch. So, I focused on that in our game board. If you don’t know which love language you and your mate speak, I highly suggest you find out. It has helped so much in our relationship to know how to make the other feel loved and appreciated. It also helps that we are both the same, but we just got lucky there!

The best part of the Between the Sheets Bedroom Game

6. This was what really made the night! I included bonus spaces in our Between the Sheets Bedroom Game. They were the large circles and each was labeled “BONUS BOX”. If one of us landed on those spaces, we got to choose a box; in which I had little mini-games for us to play. You can get some ideas for these if you click that yellow button below. I had a box for every space, but we were allowed to choose any box we wanted. That was fun. Seriously, don’t skip this part.

** I had a reader send in a suggestion with an alteration they made to their game. She says:

“I also included a “finish” bonus. Something fun for him and something fun for me, depending on who ‘won’. Obviously this had to be tailored to us personally, but I added extra fancy wrapping to this one for the big finale.”

I love this idea! What a fun way to celebrate your win, especially if you’re both competitive. Thanks for the suggestion, Jessi! **

7. Then I wrote out the rules. I didn’t want to have to make up rules as we were playing, because the focus was supposed to be on the two of us during game play. Having the rules already written out made it so we could focus on us, not how to play the game.

The rules included:

set time limits for each activity
who was the giver and who was the receiver
described game play and what happened when one of us landed on the BONUS BOX spaces.

Our rules were:
1. Players roll a dice and move along the board in turn.
2. Players have 2 minutes on each space they land on until the next player gets a turn to roll. Everything must STOP at the end of 2 mins.
3. If you land on a bonus box you get to open a bonus box! Follow the directions inside the bonus box to complete the task.
4. The winner is the first player to land on the finish space. Both players are then obliged to ensure their opponent finishes in a satisfactory manner.

What I would do differently next time I create a Between the Sheets Bedroom Game

That’s all there is to making the game. It’s pretty easy and, truly, the difficult part is coming up with things to write in all the spaces. You could leave some blank if you wanted, but I decided I wanted lots of intimate opportunites. Follow the directions on the fabric marker packaging to set the ink. I waited 48 hours and then washed and dried our sheet, per the directions on my fabric markers.

Having played it once, I can say now, I wish I would I have put in a few more spaces that weren’t so physically involved with more sensitive areas of the body. It was awesome and I loved it, but it wasn’t something I could have enjoyed again the next day. We ended up on “Twin Time” far more often than I expected and the girls were a bit tender the next day… Maybe consider a few “skip a turn” spaces to give yourselves a little break and make the other spaces more enticing! Despite that though, I absolutely can’t wait to play again. In all honesty… the sheet is still on our bed… Oo-la-la!

Don’t forget to download your Bonus Box ideas! Hit that button below for the download page!

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