Friday, July 29, 2016

Parenting: Sharing


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Sharing is a word that is a double-edged sword.  It can bring tears of happiness to a parent's eyes or tears of anguish to the eyes of children.

With such a small age difference between my two littlest children (my son turned 3 in June, my daughter was 1 in April), most of the toys are interesting to both of them.  For example, both children love playing with stacking rings.  My daughter first starting using them when she was crawling.  She would put one in each hand as she would slide across the floor.  My son uses them to enact the television show "Color Crew" (Baby First's Color Crew).  Both enjoy stacking them but sometimes sharing doesn't work out so well.  Sometimes they both want them and other times my son wants my daughter to play with them with her but she is too busy on her own.

Another toy of contention in our house are Lego bricks. They have a total of three sets of the Duplo. My daughter is fascinated with pulling them apart - working on those fine motor skills.  My son likes to build laser guns and light swords based upon a popular sci-fi video game as well as build cakes. He first built a cake for me and said "Happy Mother's Day."  A little late, but very meaningful to this emotional mommy.  Of course, when his sister wants to take apart his creations, he has shed a lot of tears himself.

As they learn to play with each other, I see them wanting to play more and more together.  For example, my son has been building tracks for his Go Go Smart cars and my daughter has been using the cars on those tracks.  And when he colors, she has to have paper and crayons, too.  I think I am in for a lifetime of them sharing with each other and their older brother.


      

Friday, July 22, 2016

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Birthday Party


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Both of my children love Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  We watch it regularly and sing the songs to help teach lessons to my toddlers all the time.

We were fortunate enough to win a deluxe prize pack from the television show through a contest on their Facebook page so the plan was set in motion to hold a Daniel Tiger themed first birthday party for my little gal.

We had a Daniel Tiger themed first birthday party for my son in 2014 as this was his favorite show at the time. (Now he is a huge fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse).  Fortunately, we already have the figures and tree from the TV show that we used for decoration.

Over the past several months I have been working on her birthday party (as well as her brother's that was in June). I find I need to plan things, write lists, and check off the items I listed.  And then I write even more lists as I remember more things that needed to be completed or accomplished.

I have scoured Pinterest and the Internet for ideas for a Daniel Tiger themed party.  Looking for everything from dessert ideas to crafts that the children invited can make during the party.


Photo Opportunities 


Trolley in various stages


 


 


 (inside of the box where I cut out a door)


I used a box from plastic bins that I received for Christmas from my in-laws for my quiet box/busy time activities.


Welcome Sign 


I used the cardboard box from the double stroller we received for Christmas for our two littles.  Half of the box is being used for K's party and the other half will be used for her brother's party.



Food


Brownies



Chocolate covered pretzels

  

Meatball Sandwiches, Veggie straws

Tiger Themed Cake 

(before the icing)

 



Decorations and Party Supplies


Dining Room 


Silhouette Game 

I printed out the coloring pages from PBS of the different characters and then cut them out with construction paper.  After laminating them, I put them on our closet door so we could play a matching game.  Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to play but my daughter loved walking by and touching each character.

 Inspiration (Daniel Tiger Silhouette Matching Game)


Crafts - Tiger Faces

I prepared all the materials beforehand. I put all the materials in a party bag decorated with pictures of Daniel Tiger and friends. We didn't actually have enough time to complete any crafts.


Materials
  • paper plates
  • black construction paper strips
  • large googly eyes 
  • black construction paper mouth cut outs
  • ear cut outs
  • orange crayons
  • glue and glue sticks

Coloring Pages


PBS' website has lots of resources for each of their programs.  There are online and printable coloring sheets for Daniel Tiger (Daniel Tiger Coloring Page).


    

I linked up with the following blog(s):



Friday, July 15, 2016

Cooking Quest - Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie


I have made this recipe several times and adapted it each time to fit the ingredients we had on hand. The original recipe I modified is from Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie.

After peeling and cutting the potatoes, you line them along the bottom.

peeled and cut potatoes in the bottom of the slower cooker

Then you put in the frozen chicken (it will take longer to cook if you use frozen ingredients) and cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup.

frozen chicken and can of soup in the slow cooker

Then I used fresh baby carrots and cut them in half.

Carrots in the slower cooker

After I added some frozen vegetables, I let it cook for 6 to 8 hours on low. After cooking for about 6 hours, I did cut up the chicken to make sure it thoroughly cooked.

Safety tip! Please remember to to check the temperature of your chicken before serving.

Chicken pot pie in the slower cooker

Here is the finished product. I recommend serving it with rolls. 

Chicken Pot Pie in the slow cooker

I linked up with the following blog(s): 



Friday, July 1, 2016

Crafts: Fourth of July Hand-Print Fireworks


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I discovered this really cute idea from Learn Create Love and decided to try it out with my three children. I used construction paper and pony beads we already had on hand.


Materials 



Steps 


1. Gather all your materials.

2. First, I traced my two littles' hands and I asked my stepson to trace his own hands.  Looking back I would trace each child's hands onto different colored paper (red, white, and blue).


3. Then I glued them down onto black construction paper to create a firework effect after cutting them out.  By cutting them out, I was able to trim and shape the hand-prints where my two littles moved when I was tracing them.


4. Then my son glued beads onto them.  We did this instead of glitter because I am not a fan of glitter. It gets EVERYWHERE! 

5. The finished product - all ready to hang up when it dries. 


Do you have a favorite craft to do around the Fourth of July?