How to Keep your kids busy, on the cheap!

This summer has been a complete bust for us. With picking up extra hours at work to fill in what I lost for the summer, there has been little to no extra for summer fun. So the other day after I finished work, I swung by our local Dollor Store to see what I could find. I found these awesome foam planes for $1.25! Perfect. 2 planes for the price of one! (You can grab whatever you think may interest your littles, for my boys, planes, trains and cars are always a go to!) You could always pick up a few new, interesting things that can be put away for a later date! For me, I wanted to spend as little as possible. For $1.25, I was prepared for them to last just for the day, but thats all we needed :)

Thank you Dollar Store :)

Ace helping daddy build the plane

As soon as I got home, the boys noticed I had something special in hand, and as soon as I pulled the planes out they jumped up and down excitedly yelling, "Mommy, you got me a plane?! Oh THANK YOU mommy, you are the best!" Literally. I guess having 4 year olds has its perk, they love you for the little things!

 

Ez man

So we immediately got to work, pulling all the pieces out and building. Okay, so I am not going to lie! I got super confused from the lack of instructions as there were no instructions, so I had the hubs help! Once they were put together, the boys had a blast flying them all around the living room! And boy do those things fly. (When properly put together...) After about an hour of testing, we decided to head to the park down the street and test them there. Unfortunately, it was too windy and the planes quickly fell apart. BUT we made it to the park, even if it was only maybe the second time this summer... Super sad, I know I know! So we just played until they were tired! I put everything I had to do on the back burner, and just let go.  And guess what? Life still went on and dinner was even still on the table before midnight!

Okay, so I guess my little tidbit for the day is this; even if you have no money, have a bajillion things on your to-do list, and feel like summer has sucked the big one, you can still find a little fun if you just let go a little. And you definitely don't need to spend a lot, or drive to some fancy smancy theme park either! (Not that there is anything wrong with theme parks, our family personally loves them a little too much!) Just love the little things, enjoy time spent with loved ones, and let go :)

Doing what boys do best, gettin dirty!

“Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.” 
― A.W. Tozer

Traveling with the littles (pt.2)

Eye Spy! with my little eye... We've all played it before. A classic game of eye spy in the backseat of our family vehicle, fighting with our big sister (or little brother) over who guessed it first! Well today, I bring a new type of eye spy to the table, and this one will bring those fights to an end! Unless of course you only make one, be prepared for war!

I first seen these floating around Pinterest about a year ago, I loved the idea, and I loved that we could use familiar objects that my kids loved to create it! The only downfall, is that I made only one. I figured two of the same book would be a big waste of money, and since I could only think of a few pages to add, I definitely didn't have enough Eye Spy pages for two separate books. This could be an awesome way to teach them to take turns and the importance of sharing, or it could go horribly wrong and cause said, war.

This book cost me just under $5 (Canadian), and these are supplies I needed;
- Camera
- Toys, grouped into 7-10 piles
- White piece of paper or blanket
- Little 4x6 photo album (found mine from dollar giant for $1.25)

First, I sorted their toys into groups. This was a little time consuming, but I had them help, which they really enjoyed! AND it gave me a chance to go through their toys and sort them! (Or dispose of them if they were broken/missing parts) So it was a win win :)

Then I got out my camera, arranged all the toys from one group onto the paper, and took a couple of shots. I then picked out 3-5 toys from that group, and took another picture of them, this time with a big blank spot to the left or right, to fill with words later in photoshop! pixlr.com/ works great too ;)
(NOTE: After I did this, I realized that wal-mart cropped some of the toys out of the image around the edges, so it is best to pick toys that are in the middle of the group so your child can actually find them!)
I did this with each group. Two photos.
Then I opened up the photos with the blank spots and filled it with text like, "Can you find these Thomas Characters?" I also created one for the front of their book that has their names on it.
Once I finished editing the photos, I sent them into Wal-mart online, and picked them up later! (ONLY reason I used Wal-Mart was because they had a sale on their 4x6 prints for 15¢, usually they are 25¢! I NEVER pay full price :)



This is the easiest part, once you grab your prints, you throw them into your little photo album and Ta-Da! You are done. Sit back and let your kids have fun! This was definitely a hit for the two of them, and hopefully something that will keep them busy in the backseat on our long journey this summer!
I would love to see your Eye Spy books, if you get a chance to make one, let me know so we can link up! Have a happy weekend :) OH, and I almost forgot, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! To all your wonderful super moms out there ;)

If you are looking for a new blog design, check out my shop for $5 off this weekend ONLY, with special mothers days code; MOTHERSDAY2013

My Big Boys!

They are about to turn 4 in a little over 2 months. They no longer use diapers, except at night. They are 100% potty trained, and even Ace can go all night without an accident. They are outgrowing sippy cups, and tell me, "Mommy, I want a big boy cup!" or I want to use a big boy water bottle!" They help me with the putting away of laundry, starting/moving laundry, putting away their toys, washing dishes, and sweeping the floor. I can understand everything they say, no more baby babbles! They ride their two wheelers (with training wheels of course!), have real friends, and today, my babies big boys started soccer! Well, they were suppose to start soccer, but of course, good old Alberta lived up to its name and it snowed enough to cancel their first practice/game. Which I wouldn't have minded too bad because I am big baby when it comes to cold weather, except that because we live in good old Alberta, the saying; "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change!" totally lived up to its name! As we were sitting around the dinner table, I quickly reminded my husband I had to take off right away to meet with the boys coach and pick up their uniforms. He offered to whip over, so I was relieved as I was ready to just bathe the kids and relax after working all day! Literally, the minute after he left, the sun came out and it was beautiful out! It figures.
When the boys seen their uniforms they just had to try them on, we have been talking about soccer for weeks! They picked which number they wanted, and grinned from ear to ear! I still cannot believe I do not have babies anymore. I don't even have toddlers! They are growing faster than the speed of light, and I am so fearful that if I blink, I will miss it all.

Last night, like every night, my beautiful little red headed boy would not let me leave his bed. He wanted cuddles, and it was obvious I wasn't going anywhere despite the long list of household chores I had lingering from the weekend. So I didn't go anywhere. I sucked up the OCD in me and I just cuddled! It was wonderful. For myself, I find it hard to stop and take time to enjoy them when they are little. Im so busy IN the busy, that I forget that they wont always be here. They wont always be this age! Watching them today in their soccer uniforms, prouder than proud, quickly reminded me of this!

While I try to balance my husband, children, work, blog designing, housework, my music and enjoying some fun, I try to remember what the word tells me about my children. They do not belong to me in the first place, they are a gift from God and belong to him! And secondly, just how important it is to raise them up in Gods word and house!

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.



My boys are awesome. NO, they are amazing, smart, handsome, beautiful little boys! I would not trade them for anything! As crazy as life gets, I need to remember to stop, take the time needed and invest in these little souls. They grow so, SO fast, and I have such a short time to love on them before they decide that mommy is no longer "cool". So tonight, while my boys still let me cuddle them, I am going to do just that! Enjoy the littles, watch some Mega Mind and eat some popcorn! Cause tomorrow, they wont be big boys, they'll turn into young men!


(They picked their numbers, hence their little fingers :)

Busy week!

Last week was my husbands *insert age here* birthday, along with my other weekly tasks I was busy preparing for that! He always down plays his birthday, he is not big on making it a big deal, but I like to make a big deal out of birthdays! Not just because it's a birthday, but it's a day to really appreciate that special someone in your life and spoil them! Let them know how much you love having them in your life! :) So when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, I usually bake whatever HE wants, he thought he would make it easier for me and asked for an ice cream cake from dairy queen! Best husband ever or what?! This is how we spent our week :)

A rare moment of brotherly love!

Hub's birthday cake. It was this or Hello Kitty...

The shirt the boys made daddy, another Pinterest idea. He said it didnt really massage, but he was pretty stoked they made it and wished they had drawn on the front cause he wanted to show it off!

It turned out to be a really good weekend, just a chillaxed quality time with Daddy kind of weekend! :) Now I'm off to finish some blog orders and check out, cause this week is equally as busy with Easter coming up, ahhhhh!