Class Gift: Rudolf the Red-Nosed ROOT BEER

This is by far the most expensive class gift idea I'm sharing.  But even then, it isn't crazy, depending on the number of the kids in the group.

But  he is just so darn cute!

May I introduce, Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Root Beer!

Very much like the Candy Cane version, this is just a little hot glue, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners, (Oh, and I added a jingle-bell collar too) but instead of on a candy cane, you attach the pieces onto a bottle of root beer that you have already taken the label off of.

Still pretty quick.  We used Dad's Rootbeer, but Weinhard's would also be good - its' just a bit more pricey!

ClassGift: Lolli-Pop

This one was even cheaper per gift than the Rudolf Candy Canes!

For my daughter's grade-two class, we got a bunch of double-lolly brand lolli-pops, and made a simple gift tag that read, "Have a LOLLY-jolly Christmas!"

She thought the play on words was hilarious, and they were a hit with her class.

Oh - and they took about 20 minutes to do from start to finish for her whole class.  Bonus.

Class Gift: Candy Cane Reindeer

I know it has been forever. The fun hasn't stopped around here, and I have been taking pictures to share it all with you, but I just haven't made the next step of actually uploading, posting, and sharing.  

BUT - I had a couple of quick things I could show you, so I'm going with that.

This year's class Christmas gift for my five year old's kindergarten:

Rudolf Candy Canes!

Super cheap and fast!  I made 20 for about $2.50.  So don't let the fear of a big expense keep you from having your kids pass out a little treat to their classmates.

Easy to do: Start with a candy cane. Now, here you could  make it expensive if you went with the flavoured speciality candy canes, but I went with the classic mint that are super cheap.  Then all you do is hot glue a small red pompom and some little googly eyes.  The antlers are just brown pipe cleaners that I twisted around and bent into shapes.  You could probably reinforce them with a little glue, but mine were fine as is.

Finishing touch:  A little gift tag attached with some curly ribbon.

Ta-da!

Last year was my first time giving my kids something to pass out to all their classmates, and they loved it.  They felt so Christmasy and happy that they could give. And who doesn't want to teach their children to be happy by making other's happy?  It was awesome.

Summer Resolutions

It has been a while! We've moved and with the computer packed away, I got out of the habit of blogging, and now that the computer is set up again, life seems to have gotten particularly busy as we make our new house into our new home.

BUT - I don't want to let myself get so busy with all those tasks (finishing the basement, refinishing furniture, decorating the new baby room.....) that I miss out on summertime with my kiddos. So here are my summertime resolutions:

1. Go to at least two different parks each week: a family favorite, and a new, never-played-here-before. (This is in addition to the quicky trips to the playground across the street. These are special trips to the park.)

2.  Get wet as often as possible - at least 4 days/week, weather permitting.  This includes backyard sprinkler time, outdoor water parks, swimming pools, beaches, and lakes. Just outside and wet.

3. Try a new homemade Popsicle recipe every week. (thank-you, Pinterest)

4. Be sure I spend some time playing with the kids everyday. Not just seeing to their needs, but playing.


I can do it.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll get this done, and have lots of my projects undone at summer's end.  Oh well, projects keep, kids don't.

Silly Hat Supper

Lots of families have the fun tradition of eating green food for supper on St. Patrick's Day, ours included. But we've also added a little bit of silly. We always wear funny Irish hats during supper. (Thank-you, dollar store). We've added quite a few to our collection, and the kids have their favourites. It has also turned into a mini-tradition to get a group shot of the kids in their gear before supper. Here is this year's picture.

Yes, the parents play along too. Like my green wig?

School Lunches - Part 4: Fun with Fruit

Packing fruit in with the kids' lunches is a given, but that doesn't mean I can't try to be a little creative with it!

Here are a few things I've done:

Idea #1: Kabobs. This is a great way to use up the 'scraps' you may have in the fridge. And they look so fun and colourful. A great switch from the eternal apple slices.

Idea #2: Variety! This is a biggie. Just changing what fruit they get every day is a big help in getting them to eat it. I totally understand. I don't want to eat the same food four days a week either. So when I go grocery shopping, I try to get as much of the seasonal fruit as I can. Maybe one day, the kids will have a little container of grapes, the next slices of kiwi, the next some melon balls, and the next a pear. Variety is a big deal.

Idea #3: Slice them up differently. Just having it look different than it always does can inspire kids (and grown-ups!) to eat more of it.

Two ways to pack strawberries: whole, or sliced.

Orange wedges, orange circles.

Idea #4: The magic banana! This is so fun. I actually read this in a book of kids magic tricks and thought it would be great to do in their lunches. Take your regular banana, and a clean pin. Poke the pin through the peel, and sweep it back and forth a few times to cut across the banana, without letting it poke out the other side. Repeat at 1" intervals all along the fruit. Then when your kids peel the banana, it will be sliced and they will wonder how you did it.

Idea #5: Dippers. I don't like to do this too often, since dips are generally sweet extras, but once in a while it is fun to include a fruit dip for them. A few of my favorites are:

Honey - Lemon:

1 carton (6 oz) lemon yogurt

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese

1 tablespoon honey

Combine in a blender until smooth. Serve with sliced fruit. Store extra in refrigerator. (but there won't be any extra!)

Marshmallow:

1 jar (7.5 oz) marshmallow fluff

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese

Combine until smooth. Hint - have the cream cheese quite soft before you make this. Serve with sliced fruit. Store extras in refrigerator. (but again, you probably won't have any left!)

For a no-work required, (and healthier) dip, just include a small container of yogurt and they can dip with that too. And since I'm not a huge fan of the chocolate-hazelnut spreads, I've never included that, but I'm sure there are kids who would love to dip in a little cup of that! And hey, as long as they're eating the fruit, right?

School Lunches - Part 3: Note From Home

What I miss most about having my kids at home with me for lunch is the connection I get to them during the day. I miss them. I want to have a little piece of them. And, what if, just what if, they feel the same way about me? What if all they need is a little bit of Mommy in the middle of their day to make it a little brighter? So I am a fan of the lunch bag note.

Idea #1: The silly note. I've blogged this one before. But we are still having so much fun with it. I like to find jokes that are fun, quick and easy for them to remember and to tell their friends at recess. It is also fun to have jokes that are seasonal. Like ghost jokes at Halloween, Rudolf ones at Christmas, or if you know what they are learning about in school, you could try to tie that in too. If they are doing a unit on dinosaurs and fossils, put in a dino joke. If they are learning about the sea, do a pirate joke. There are lots of ways to go with this. Just have fun.

Idea #2: The love note. There is nothing wrong with writing a quick "I love you" on a note and slipping it into their lunch bags. In fact, that is a very nice thing to do. But my favourite love notes are specific ones. For example, if you noticed your son being especially thoughtful with one of his younger siblings, write that down and tell him how much you appreciated that. Or if your child comes home and gets all their jobs done right away without being asked, write them a note to tell them how proud you are of them for being so responsible. You could also use a love note to tell them something about them that you really admire about them. Maybe they are kind, or polite, or patient, or have any number of admirable qualities. Let them know. Kids need to know what it is that they do well.

Idea #3: The good luck note. This is a great one to do on a day when you know your child is facing a test in school. Especially if it is something they have been working on and worrying about. Plus, it shows them that you are aware of what is going on in their lives. You care, you are concerned.

Idea #4: The 'When you come home' note. I love these ones! It gives them (and me too!) a little boost to get through the rest of the afternoon, knowing that they are coming home to something fun that day. "I am making sugar cookies today. When you get home let's decorate them together!" "How about we order pizza for supper tonight?" "Dad got tickets to a hockey game and he's taking you!" "We're going over to Grandma's house for a visit today!" Whatever will give them a little spark.

Idea #5: The note in secret code. These notes should probably be kept short, since they will have to spend some time figuring out the meaning. For example, you could write the note in different colours, and only the words (or letters if you want to be extra tricky) written in red are part of the letter. Or you could write out a series of numbers, and each number is a letter of the alphabet. Or write a note in pictures and see if they can figure out the meaning.

Idea #6: General little letter. This is just a basic, 'Dear Daughter, How is your day today?' message, but can be great too. Tell them what you plan to do for the day, ask who they played with at recess, what did they learn about in math today, remind them that you'll see them soon, etc.

School Lunches - Part 2: Same Ingredients, Different Presentation

My kids aren't really fussy eaters, but when it comes to sandwiches, it really all comes down to ham and cheese. They will not touch peanut butter and jelly. (Isn't that supposed to be the childhood standard? How did I get the only kids who can't stand the stuff???) Anyway, if they are going to have a sandwich, they want to have ham and cheese.

So we've been doing that. But even something they enjoy can seem repetitive after a while. So here is how we shook up the norm:

Idea #1: Home made Lunchables. I put crackers, cheese slices, and rolled up slices of ham into a Tupperware, then when they have their lunches the can build their own creations.

Idea #2: Baked-in-a-blanket. I used a package of Pillsbury crescent dough and wrapped the triangles around the ham and cheese before I popped it in the oven. They loved these. I have had requests for more several times.

Idea #3: Kabobs. These were another one they really liked. No bread this time, but I just strung cubes of meat and cheese on toothpicks and filled up the containers. Easy peasey.

How else would you shake up the standard sandwich?

The Gratitude Tree

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, I wanted to do something to emphasize the reasons behind this holiday. It isn't a major one around here, and we really don't spend weeks and weeks preparing for it, but I think it is still has the potential to be very meaningful and important in our lives, if we let it.

So after we ate our feast this afternoon, I showed the kids this short video online:



At the end of the clip, it asks, "What are you thankful for?"

To answer that question, I pulled out something I made our family last night I will call a 'Gratitude Tree.' (I'm sure I saw a similar idea somewhere years and years ago, but I really don't know. Sorry I can't reference well.)

I made the tree base from some brown poster paper last night. I thought it looked okay until I set it up, but now I think it kind of looks like a giant hand reaching out of the ground. Anyway....

Then I spent hours tracing and cutting out leaves from paper in various autumn tones. Hours.

Then, I chose several leaves and wrote down a few of the many things I am thankful for on them.

I pulled out all these things after the video clip, and explained that everyone was going to get five leaves, and they needed to think of five different things they were thankful for, write one on each, and that when we were done we'd put them on the tree.

I loved how quickly they filled up their leaves. And the things they thought of were great! They ranged from our family trip to Disneyland a year-and-a-half ago, to the food we had at dinner, to their school, to their toys, to their favorite animals, to their family. It was so wonderful to see what they came up with. I had a few left over leaves, and they insisted on filling those up too, and then my daughter made a few more because she had more ideas she wanted to include.

My plan was to just tape them on the tree to make a beautiful holiday reminder, but my oldest had the idea to turn it into a game, and we did it blindfolded, kind of like 'pin the tail on the donkey.' It worked out well, even if the tree looked a little more 'scattered' than it would have otherwise. What is important is that they enjoyed doing it, and really got the message of the activity.

Here is our finished tree.

I am so happy I took the time to do this with them. I hope it is something they will remember.

School Lunches - Part 1: Adding a bit of Silly

I have always brought my big kids home for lunch during their school days. I think it is the best thing for them and for me for several reasons, but at the risk of going on and on and on, (which I can, and have) I'll keep it short and just say that the bell times at our school have changed for the year, and there isn't time enough to get them home, feed them, and get them back to school on time for the afternoon bell.

So we are all adjusting.

We have done special picnic lunches together on the school grounds, and that is great, but weather doesn't always make that possible, and with our Canadian winters, I know there will be stretches of not just weeks, but months, where they will just have to have a packed lunch.

I try to make their lunches interesting, but there is only so much you can do to vary the food you send, especially when they don't have access to a microwave to warm up what you send.

Then I was clicking around on blogland, catching up with friends, and one of them had posted a bunch of lunch ideas she had gathered up. It was awesome! She has so many ideas, and what I loved was that they weren't all just food suggestions, which are good, but also ways to make the regular things a little more fun.

I've tried out a few so far, and my kids are really loving the 'silly lunches' I've been sending this week. As I try more, I'll post them here for you to see.

Idea #1: Funny-Faced Fruit

This was such a fun and easy way to make them smile when they opened up their lunch bags. All it took was a sharpie and 10 seconds to draw the doodles. I made a silly boy for my silly boy, and a silly girl for my silly girl. You could do this with anything that the peel is taken off before you eat it, I used a banana, but you could do it on an orange too.

Idea #2: Joke of the Day

This was another great one that doesn't take any time at all to really add in, and gives them a smile. I just write a quick little note and slip it into their bags. I have found a couple of fun kid-joke websites that I've been using as resources. Some places to check are here, here, and here

Hope you have fun trying out these ideas along with me!

A Pretend Party

I love the way that children can invent a world around them with their imaginations. My daughter is the biggest pretender in our family, perhaps the biggest pretender I've ever known. She can spend hours playing and playing and playing. Trying to call her out of her world can be difficult because when she is pretending, she is so fully engaged in her make-believe world that she honestly does not hear me speak to her from two feet away.

She especially loves all her tiny toys, (thus the inspiration for her tiny birthday party). A few days ago, she and her friend were playing with these little toys in her room when my girl announced that it was Bolt's birthday, and they needed to throw a party for her. (Bolt is the small white dog in the above picture). So the girls ran to the dress up box and found some hats to wear, because a birthday party needs a hat, after all. They found a tiny doll shoe and put it on Bolt's head to act as her party hat. They set up little games in her room for the party, and were having a great time.

And since I love to support creative play, I asked the girls if they would like to make cupcakes for the birthday party. Yes, they would.

I whipped up a quick batch of chocolate cupcakes and mixed up five different colours of icing, since the girls had requested lots of 'colour choices' to decorate with.

I ransacked the baking cupboard and my pantry looking for things they could use to decorate with, and came up with a few leftover pink and red sprinkles from the most recent birthday party, some green sugar from St. Patrick's Day, a few jelly beans, chocolate chips, and some mini marshmallows --- quite enough for creative cupcake decorating!

The girls decorated and decorated for the better part of an hour. When they were done we had an amazing tower of treats.

We put a curly white candle on the top cupcake, sang Happy Birthday, and let Bolt blow out her candle, (with a little help from my girl!).

It was spontaneous and fun, the girls just loved it, and I got to help them make their pretend world just a little bit more real.

St. Patrick's Day Surprises

You know I like leaving surprises for my family, and today I was seized with a whim. My husband loves green mint Aero chocolate bars, which are perfect for St. Patty's, yes? So I took the kids to Safeway, under the guise of needing to buy a package of green Koolaid to go with our supper tonight. While they weren't looking, I smuggled a few of those yummy treats through the checkout. Step one: successful!

I have seen cute little wrappers to go over chocolate bars before, and they seemed to be around for any occasion, so I looked around online for something to dress up the Aeros. I was able to find lots of cute wrappers for St. Pat's, but not only did I have to order them and have them shipped, (Here is where a little advanced planning would have come in handy. Oops.) but also, I didn't really feel like spending more on the wrappers than on the candy itself.

Then, to my joy, I found this site and it had cute, free, immediately printable chocolate bar wrappers. Hooray! Step two: Successful!

After using all my stealth to wrap the candy, I went around the house and left one on the pillow of all my loves for them to discover. Step three: Successful!

A few hours later --- I couldn't believe they hadn't discovered them earlier!--- I was getting hugs and kisses from all my little people who were happy to find this little treasure. And just now,9:55pm, (yup it took him all evening to notice) my hubby found his. And I got a kiss from him too. Step four: Successful!

Ahhh, I love days like this.

PS: I know St. Patrick's Day is over, but I still have one more post I want to do for tomorrow. Just read it and keep it in the back of your mind for next year.

The Half-Birthday

Do you remember how far apart your birthdays were when you were little? I do! It was almost torturous!

Long before I was a mother, or even married, (okay, I think I was still in early high school) I saw a tiny little note in a magazine about celebrating on the six month mark. I loved it. Loved it! I tucked the idea away in the corner of my mind and when I had my family, I dusted it off and it became a tradition for us.

And this weekend we celebrated with our oldest son.

I keep the 1/2 birthdays very simple. I think that since I love parties and creating them for my kids, I could easily lose control and end up having full blown birthday bashes, when all I meant to do was give them a special day to ease the wait till their real birthday. So we decided long ago just exactly what a half-birthday would entail.

The night before, I always make a simple banner that hangs over the table and reads, "Happy 1/2 Birthday, George!" (or Sue, or Freddie...) and hang it up before I go to bed. Then in the morning when they come out of their rooms, all rumpled with sleep, they see this cheery sign reminding them that today is their special day.

The most important part is the half-birthday cake. I make a basic two-tiered round cake and cut it in half and decorate it. (I let the special child decide on the flavour and colours to use) Isn't it fun? And really, very little work and time is required.

On top of the cake, we light their age-and-a-half number of candles. So this candle has seven full sized candles, plus one very small candle, on top. Seven-and-a-half, you see.

Their half birthdays also include a family supper where all the grandparents come over and I cook a menu designed by the half-birthday boy or girl. This year included a request for three different kinds of pizza, (Can you guess his favourite food?) and no other side dishes to go with it. He wanted pizza, and only pizza.

Finally, they get ONE gift. Just one. Usually we try to have it be a new book, since I am so in love with children's literature and want so very much to develop a love of reading in my kids. This year, our man opened a box set of Junie B Jones, by Barbara Park. He loved it, and read an entire book this evening.

The half-birthday has been great for our family and I would completely recommend it to yours.

A Visit From Cupid

My husband teases me that I have created a 'nocturnal patron' for every occasion. Naturally Santa Claus comes and leaves gifts during the night, and not surprisingly the Easter Bunny does the same thing. Then, of course, there is the Tooth Fairy who comes by night as well. But my children also get visited by leprechauns on St. Patrick's Day and a Magic School Bus on the night before their first day of school.

And on Valentine's Day, they get a surprise visit from Cupid.

He doesn't shoot his arrows at them, but he does decorate their bedroom doors while they sleep.

He also leaves each of them a little baggie full of Valentines treats: chocolate hearts, red and pink jelly beans, lip-shaped gum drops....whatever he happens to find on sale. The bag is always placed directly outside their doors and in the center of some confetti hearts (Cupid's version of Pixie Dust) so that as soon as they wake up and leave their rooms in the morning, they find their goodies.

I just love their excitement when they find their stash each year!

One-On-One

When you have your first child, having one-on-one time is kind of a given. Everything you do becomes one-on-one time. But once a sibling or two (or three!) is added, it gets more difficult to have time that is just between you and one child. More difficult, and arguably, more important.

So although I miss having my older two home with me during the day, while they are away at school, I am very careful to make some time just with me and my three year old guy. I put the baby down for a nap, and before I do anything else, (not the laundry, or cleaning the bathroom, or even my own shower some days) we have our Special Time.

'Special Time' is the name we use when the kids get a one-on-one with either parent. I love it. I love it. There are no real rules for a special time with my boy, but I make sure that it happens first, or else the time melts away and the chance is lost. I also am sure that he is the one who gets to choose what we do together. A game, play doh, a 'learning' activity - whatever he feels like. Sometimes he'll get stuck on one thing, and we'll play Candyland every day for three weeks, or spend each morning reading book after book. But even if it is repetitive for me, I know that he is having a great time, and that makes me have a great time too.

Here are some pictures I took at the end of one of our recent Special Times.

My guy and me.
Smootchin.'

Just being silly. Guess which of his pictures is his favorite? Mine?

Love Notes and Surprises

I like to leave my kids surprises for them to find when they wake up in the morning. Just little things, but things that let them know that I'm thinking of them, even while they are fast asleep.

Without question, their favorite surprises are when I bake cookies after I've tucked them in and leave a couple on a napkin with a simple love note beside their beds. When they wake up in the morning, they find the treat and are always excited. My kids were VERY lucky this week and actually had cookie surprises twice.

I also really like to leave them little cards with pictures of us together, and for my older ones who are starting to read, I like to leave a simple letter telling them something they have done that I was proud of them for, or telling them what I admire about them. It is special, and it lets them know that I am noticing when they do good things. It feels good, for both of us.