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™.

December 21, 2015 by Krista

Fill in the Blank Printable Coupons

This is a last minute stocking stuffer I’m giving to my kiddos and it’s so easy, I figured I’d share it with you too. These fill in the blank printable coupons are super versatile and you can use them for more than just your kids. Use them for your sweetie too. Because they are fill in the blank, they work for everyone. It’s an easy gift that will keep on giving through the year.

FILL IN THE BLANK PRINTABLE COUPONS

Materials:
– Pen, Markers or Pencils
– Scissors or Paper Cutter
– Fill in the Blank Printable Coupons
– Hole Punch
– String or Yarn

Directions:
– Print out the high resolution Fill in the Blank Coupons. Click the link or the image to download the high resolution file.
– Use the pen, markers or pencils to fill out the coupons however you want.
– Cut the coupons apart with the scissors or paper cutter.
– Punch a hole or two in each coupon, string the coupons together on the string or yarn and tie them together. Alternatively, you could staple the coupons together or put them in an envelop. Whatever method you want to use to keep all the coupons together. You can also embellish the coupons more if you want.
– Gift your coupons to your lucky recipient and enjoy some fun moments and memories for the next year. I purposely didn’t put an expiration date on mine, but you can write one in if you’d like.

That’s it. Super simple, right? And it’s free! I know I definitely don’t need to spend any more money on Christmas, but this is still a meaningful gift. And I love that I was able to make one for each of my kiddos (well… the older two) and my husband without having to spend a lot of time create extra templates and doing redesigns.

December 14, 2015 by Krista

Cork Reindeer Ornament

I have been wanting to make this cork reindeer ornament since I made my cork jewelry organizer. Yeah, almost three years ago… But, I made the cork jewelry organizer in February. After Christmas. So, I saved it. And saved it. Annnnnnd saved it. But no more! I have put those extra corks to great use and turned them into some fabulous Christmas ornaments! This would be great for little bit older kids – there was a little too much hot glue for my not-so-careful kiddos. But it was super cathartic for me… so there’s that.

CORK REINDEER ORNAMENT

Materials:
– cork
– googly eyes
– small black or red pom pom
– 2 brown pipe cleaners
– paper clip and wire cutters
– glue gun and glue sticks

Directions:
– Hot glue the eyes in the middle of the cork, close together.
– Hot glue the pom pom on the end of the cork for the nose.

– Shape the pipe cleaners into antlers and hot glue them to the sides of the cork.

– Shove the end of the paper clip into the top of the cork. Leave about an inch of space after the paper clip comes out of the cork. Use the wire cutters to carefully bend the paper clip into a small eye hook. Secure with a bit of hot glue to keep it in place if desired.

– Attach a hook to the paper clip loop and hang it on your tree.

These went together so quickly that I ended up with three of them… so now we have three cork reindeer ornaments. Maybe I’ll slap years and names on the backs of those babies and give them to my boys as gifts. But seriously – so EASY! I would have (should have!) made them with the 8-11 year old girls I used to have Activity Days with a couple years ago. They would have loved these reindeer ornaments!

December 11, 2015 by Krista

Glass Snowman Ornament

This snowman ornament turned out cuter than expected, considering the simple materials. And that it was kind of a last-ditch effort to salvage the ornament I originally made. The original wasn’t as awesome as I’d pictured and I was rather disappointed with it at first. Luckily, attempt #2 turned out much better in the form of this cute snowman ornament. Quick, easy and cute. Just my kind of craft. Ready to make yours?

GLASS SNOWMAN ORNAMENT

MAKING YOUR SNOWMAN ORNAMENT

Materials:
– Glass ornament. I used these glass disc-shaped ornaments I found on Amazon (affiliate link)
– Epsom salt
– School glue
– Hole punch
– Scissors
– Construction paper – orange and black
– Hook or paper clip to hang the ornament

Directions:
– Take the cap off the ornament carefully and set it aside. Pour some glue into the ornament. If you want the salts only on one side like I did it, be careful and only get glue on one side of the ornament. If you want the whole thing to have salts on it, pour the glue in and spread it around the entire ornament.

– Pour Epsom salt into the ornament and shake the ornament until salt covers all the glue. I left a little extra in the glass ornament too. You can leave it or empty it out, your choice.

– Use the hole punch to punch out circles from the black construction paper. If you want larger eyes (like I did) use the scissors to cut larger circles for the eyes also from the black construction paper.

– Use the glue to put the eyes and mouth on the outside of the glass ornament.

– Cut a small triangle from the orange construction paper for the nose. Glue it on with the glue too.

– Let the glue and Epsom salt dry and then carefully put the cap back on the top of the ornament. Attach a hook and hang on the tree.

That’s it. Who knew construction paper would work so well?! I was hoping to use craft foam to give it a little more dimension, but I didn’t have orange… or black. So, I improvised with the paper and it still turned out great. If the snowman pieces fall off I’ll use hot glue to stick them back on. I haven’t had a problem with them yet though. Despite the fact that my baby played Godzilla with the tree yesterday. Even attempted to ascend to the tip top… that boy will be the death of me.

A SNOWMAN ORNAMENT THE KIDS CAN MAKE

This was simple enough that my boys could have helped. They didn’t… because they were sent to bed early. We need to sing “Santa Claus is coming to Town” more often it seems. A more frequent reminder of all that’s at stake seems to be necessary.

Little J was pretty disappointed he didn’t get to make one… he thought they turned out great and wouldn’t stop touching it. His smile is pure joy. It’s my favorite.

All snowmen need a scarf, right? This little guy might get this little accessory in a day or two. And I just know you’re dying to know what was so awful with the first ornament that I had to try again… go ahead. You be the judge.