Imaginarium Train Table - My two year olds favorite toy !

IKEA KURA BED - How we assembled the bed - Star of Paris DIY

This is a short video on how we assembled the KURA bed by IKEA. I have to admit, it took a while to set everything up, but once you know order of the parts then its easy. Definitely use the extension tool included in the kit to make it easier and quicker. 

Spray bottle art time - 2 year old activity

 I have been trying to do more art activities with my son since we have been staying indoors so much. I know he loves to get the water bottle and spray the cat or dogs; so I knew this would be a fun project for him. Although it would be best to do this outdoors, under controlled conditions it's possible to do indoors.

Materials:

I have washable kids paints which I mixed with water and placed in a spray bottle.

Paper to place on his art easel

Tape to hold the paper in place and the bottom of the paper to catch any running paint.

A rag, just in case the solution is too watery and you need to quickly clean up.

Image 1: Shows how I taped the paper to the bottom of the art easel. It catches the running paint. 

Image 2: My toddler having some fun with the spray bottles

Image 3: 

The paints and bottle I used.

You will know immediately if your solution is too watery when you spray the paper. Add more paint to intensify the color and decrease the liquidness of the solution.

Overall, a fun project for my toddler. Painting with spray bottles definetly adds to the excitement of art time.

Melissa and Doug Wooden Farm Train Set - GREAT GIFT

The Melissa and Doug Wooden Farm Train Set is a great gift for any child ! My 2 Year old loves it. 

Christmas Ornaments DIY - Star of Paris - Tutorial

Once again, I was inspired by Pinterest to make these holiday Christmas ornaments.

They cost about $4.25 for 6 ornaments. 

$1.50 - clear plastic ornaments 

$2.75 - acrylic paints 

Here is the link to my YouTube tutorial :

A great gift or any grandparent :)

Also, the fingerprint snowmen add a lot of cuteness to this project :)

Art time at our house - 2 year old

At our house art time is a whole day process. I do it every month and will be trying to do it weekly now that the cold weather has set in.

How I set up..

First, we have so many coloring books we could open a store. I take old and un-used coloring books and tear the pages out.

Then, I tape all them all together and make one huge coloring page floor area.

Finally, I take out markers, paints, pens, crayons and color pencils.

He can now color to his hearts content !  

It keeps him very occupied and loves to use all of his art supplies. 

As an added bonus I give him stickers to embellish his artwork. 

Too many toys ??

I took my son this week for development testing. I don't have any concerns but I did want to know if there were any areas we could improve. To my surprise there were two main tests he failed.

First: imagination

They asked if he pretends to play with other toys. While he does pretend to cook he never pretends one toy to be another. For example using a block as a car. It's true we have a garage full of toys so he has never had to pretend. If he wants a car he has a box full of them. That was when I asked myself if my child has too many toys? Is it limiting his imagination ? I have taken out toys and rotate them monthly. Maybe just a cardboard box for a week to try and get him to pretend more ? 

Second: pointing at images on books and naming them.

In our house we have 30 library books plus bookshelves and closet full of books. Reading has been our primary goal since he was born. Before nap and bed time we read him an average of 10 books. Now, I'm asking myself it have we been doing too much reading and not enough interacting ? If you ask him to point to a item he does, if you ask him to repeat a word he does but he never voluntarily names items out loud. He will look at books and say he's reading but he never reads out loud and points out items. Not sure how to improve this. If you ask he will answer but how do I get him to talk without asking? 

I'm glad I did the development testing, it made me look at him from a different perspective and now I'm re-evaluating my daily activities to get him talking more. Having kids is hard, there might be millions of books to teach you how to raise a child  but with limited time, which are the right books and what activities are best for your child. Back go the drawing board for me :)

Baby Proofing The Christmas Tree

When we had our first baby we decorated the tree with lovely "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments. Then the year passed and my baby started exploring more and more. Finally, last Christmas, I had to admit my ornaments were no longer child safe. So, I went out and bought new ornaments and childproofed as best I could. Here is some advice when you're planning your first kid friendly Christmas tree.

******

New Christmas ornaments:
Replaced with non breakable ornaments. Purchased stuffed animal ornaments, paper ornaments and made origami ornaments. Ornaments that were delicate and we wanted on the tree were placed at the top of the tree, out of reach.

Hanging Christmas ornaments:
Removed all metal hooks from ornaments and replaced with thread.

The light outlet is behind the tree and we don't let our toddler see it. We turn the tree on/off when he's not watching. He's in a phase where he wants to plug and unplug everything if given the chance.

Purchasing a small tree. We bought a 4'-5'ft tree. Mostly I like that small tree's are easier to decorate and fit in my son's playroom. Another bonus is that he's not tempted to climb it. His favorite stuffed animal ornaments are at the bottom so he can move them around as he likes.

A Christmas tree skirt is the best way to deter my son from looking under the christmas tree. Make sure the tree skirt doesn't have any decorations that can be ripped off and become a choking hazard !! Especially those with bells.

Most of all, remember less is more. Try not to over decorate the tree. For sanity's sake, know how many ornaments are on the tree so no little hands take and hide ornaments for entertainment later.

                                                                              ******

Here are some more pictures of our Christmas tree. I can't wait for christmas morning :)

Elmo birthday cupcake wrappers tutorial ~ 2nd Birthday ~ ELMO

I have been getting ready for my son's 2nd birthday. This year will be an Elmo themed birthday. I have been recording my decoration projects as I go.

This is the first of several projects I will be sharing on YouTube too. Lol I have learned a few things along the way and hope they can help you too in your party planning :)

First lesson learned, should use smaller circles for these cupcake wrappers. Too late but good to know for next time :)

Ikea hack the kura bed... The beginning of this project.

The Kura bed project:

Yesterday, we went to ikea and purchased the Kura bed. We had seen this bed on our last trip to ikea and knew it had potential. Then, on one of those Pinterest nights I found our new project....

 

Over the next few weeks I will keep everyone posted on the progress of this project. I have to admit we are just going by this image for instructions. My husband will have to figure out everything as he goes. 

First, since we are out of garage space and we live in a two story house. We have decide to build the bed in my sons room and add pieces to the bed there. I have to admit building is the easy part; painting will definetly be a challenge. 

Wish us luck, we need this bed done ASAP.

We have another baby on the way who needs my son's crib :)

12 Volt dirt racer - monster trax

For my son's second birthday, I wanted something special. Some of my friends bought their little ones a power wheels scooter. We decide to purchase a monster trax since we have dirt trails nearby. While we love the item, my son is still too small to reach the pedal. Trying to figure out what to do to fix this proble since there is an 88lb limit. Although, I would easily fit, I weigh more than that! We currently hold the pedal down and he moves forward a little bit. He loves it and asks for more. Too cute! 

Snazaroo face paints - Review

I've been getting ready for Halloween. So, I went ahead and purchased the : Snazaroo Face Painting Kit at Michaels.

Here is my shopping experience: 

1- Open up and check all the boxes ! Some we're missing colors!

2- Make sure the colors you need are included in the kit.

I'm doing a tiger face so I needed orange,yellow, black and white. 

3. Take your 40% coupon to Michael's, Hobby Lobby or Joanne Crafts. I spent 9.71 instead of $14.99+ tax.

4. Store the box horizontally not vertically! The paints will fall off easily. So, it's best to keep the box lying down :)

My son is almost 2 so I decided to start early in practicing his tiger face. Here are a few tips.

1.The sponge is too large to do such a small face. You will need to purchase a smaller sponge to be able to get more color details.

2. Barely moisten the sponge, too much water and the color is too diluted !

3. It comes with one brush, I would recomend more brushes if you need to do multiple colors. 

4. Working with a toddler is hard, you need to be quick and be prepared to correct mistakes when they move. Try to put a video on to keep them focused on something (I know, what a time not to have tv in the house, thank goodness for iPhones). 

5. Just keep q-tips or baby wipes handy to clean up mistakes.

6. Look on youtube or Pinterest for some great tutorials.

Overall, for the cost, this was a great purchase. My son loves to have me paint on him, he always asks for more. We ended up using them for a birthday party too. Really a great item to have at home with toddlers, especially on a rainy day when keeping them busy is a challenge.

Potty Training Fun !!

I never imagined potty training would be so complicated. I figure I would take my son by the hand to sit on his potty and it would all click in. Nope, lets just say I needed a time out due to frustration and hopelessness.

Day one - Very hopeful and determined to potty train by the end of the day
Woke up and explained to my son that today he was being potty trained like a big boy. That he would go pee pee in the potty and wear big boy undies. He said 'yeah' to everything so I figured he understood.

Morning: Sat in his potty for a couple of minutes until 10:30 when he finally went in the potty. Hooray! I was so happy, this is going to be easy

Mid-Morning: Oops. had two accidents on the floor and the carpet. Had to clean it up.

Afternoon: Sat him in the potty with a 10 minute video of 'Word World'. Pee'd 2 seconds after getting up from the potty then went #2 on the carpet. Okay, so extremely frustrated by this point. He's sitting on the potty but not going.

Nap time: diaper on

After nap time: Another oops, diaper back on, thinking of giving up


Day two- Can't give up, I can't stop trying, maybe he'll understand potty training today?

Morning, Mid-morning, afternoon: Oops,Oops, #2 Oops, Oops- Ready to give up and try in a couple of months.

Mid afternoon: Can't give up, I need to do this, followed him around with his potty. Hooray !! we had 2  pee's !!

Naptime: diaper on

Afternoon: more oops 

Day 3: gave up, back to diapers until next week.

Lol 

Two months have passed since my first attempt at potty training. My son will be turning 2 in a couple of weeks. Therefore, I'm determined to potty train him. 

Luckily, my first potty training attempts worked. If he's not wearing a diaper he will run to the potty and go. We've only had one accident. Unfortunately, I put a diaper on during nap time and that's where things seems to go wrong. He refuses to take the diaper off after nap time. I'm cosidereing putting on cotton undies and wondering if he will know the difference. 

At least he understands the potty concept. Just need more time and patience. Hopefully I will get him on a routine soon.

Labor Day Sale - Old Navy - Fleece jackets

I went to old navy and found these incredibly cute fleece jackets. They will be perfect for this cold winter; although, it's currently 100 degrees outside. I bought one for my son and baby #2. I was only able to get a 30% discount.

Gund Peek A Boo Bear-Animated With Voice

Update: Nov. 2013

My son received this for his 1st birthday. During the last year, he has played with it maybe 5 times. When he does take interest in it he has a good laugh. Compared to his other animated toys though, it's the least used of them all. I think it would have been a great toy if he would have recieved it before his 1st birthday.

Should I buy water shoes for my toddler?

I never thought one of the main wardrobe components of my son's would be water shoes. We live in a hot desert climate and we find water recreationto be the funnest on a warm day. The cost of my son's water shoes was $30 at Stride Rite. Ouch, they were so cute I couldn't resist. To my surprise, I can't imagine my son's life without them. First, we used them for swimmng lessons, the hot pool concrete made it essential to have. Then, the water parks and splash parks, it's safer for him to be wearing them rather than stepping on dangerous park grounds. Overall, the investment in these shoes was worth it for us. Even playtime outside just watering the lawn requires these types of shoes. I am glad I purchased them and I think anyone with a toddler should consider adding them as an essential toddler accessory. 

Perfect Toddler Morning

Good morning, I woke up bright and early this morning thanks to the extra loud garbage trucks going down my street:) Since I always wake up when my toddler starts yelling 'mama' from his room. I decided I would use the time wisely. So, I got up, washed my face, put on make-up (yes! first time this month) and got dressed. By the time I was done, my toddler was calling me and making all sorts of noise from his room. To say I was ready to leave the house before my toddler is an accomplishment around here. Usually, I make him priority from the moment I wake up. Making me be that crazy haired lady with stained clothing running after a perfectly groomed toddler. One of my main life question is what do other mommies do on a regular day? I sometime feel my life so boring and predictable, how do other parent manage life with a toddler? So, to give some insight into my mommy day:

Woke up at 7:00
Dressed and Ready by 7:30
Downstairs with my toddler by 7:45
Toddler eating breakfast 8:00-8:30
By 9:00 I had washed dishes, swept the floor, cleaned puppy area, sanitized laundry floor, took dry clothing from dryer, did a new load of laundry, fed the cat and prepared my breakfast and snack to go.
At 9:30 I took my toddler upstairs, ran the vacuum in my room and hallway, gave him a morning bath and got him ready to leave the house.
In the car by 9:35 and on our way to morning story time for some playtime.
In the car by 11:00 and on our way to the duck pond to feed the ducks and eat a lunch snack.
Home by 12:30, my son arrived fast asleep and has been sleeping since then.

During nap time, I took care of finances, cooked lunch, did more laundry and started writing this blog. For me, it seems like a perfect morning, my toddler has so much fun at story time and feeding the ducks is always fun for both of us. So, this is my morning and this is a good day, when we get out of the house before nap time. Now, I'm just waiting for him to wake up so we can eat, play and be ready for when daddy gets home to go bike ridding, walk the dogs (we have 5 dogs) and enjoy the rest of the afternoon together.

Most days aren't like this but thanks to the morning garbage trucks this was how we spent the day.

Summer Toddler Activity - Water Balloons & Hula Hoop

Toddler activity- 20 months

I never thought of this but at a company picnic my son discovered water balloons. 

They put a bucket of water balloons and he loved it ! Ended up soaking wet but on a hot summer day like today; it was the best entertainment. So, I'm on my way to the dollar store to buy a bag of water balloons.

One thing, balloons are a choking hazard!  Alhought I wasn't able to throw the torn balloons away here, when I do this activity I'm going to make sure I have a trash bag ready to pick up the pieces. 

Also, hula hoops, who knew ? He loved pushing it through the grass.

Organizing my life...one project at a time.

So, this past week I started working on a shutterfly book I started a year ago. Its the first month of life book for my son. I have to admit, I still have months 5-24 to finish. Its hard work to put it all together.  It is possible, but it takes commitment. I decided, everyday for the past week I would take 30 minutes to work on my book. I did 15 minutes in the morning before my son woke up and 15 minutes during nap time. By Friday I was so tiered of working on that book, I wanted to scream. Its done now, ready to order and all of the memories preserved in print. Although I still need to work on more books, I decided to take a break because to be honest its hard work! I need break. So, to make my life easier this week I will take the challenge of organizing my photos on my laptop. I know! its years of photos all clustered but I know if I can finish one shutterfly book, I can organize all of my photos. So, in a week I will let you know if 30 minutes a day for one week is enough to organize thousands of photos. Hopefully, this way making a shutterfly book for the missing months will be easy:)

HOMEMADE PAINTS USING CORNSTARCH.....TODDLER ACTIVITY

I find that my toddler loves to get into mischief whenever possible. To avoid major chaos in the house, I decided to make homemade paints. I recently found this website, which had several different recipes to try.

http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/finger-paint-recipes.html#paintrecipe

Making homemade paints was easier that I thought. Although they don't have the paint quality of store bought paints. When the paints touch the paper it looked like a water mess with tint rather than real paint. My son loved it, he loved sitting on the giant piece of paper and pouring paint everywhere! 

It was messy but an activity he enjoyed and I loved how easy it was to clean up. I just rinsed him off with the hose and put the paper in the recycle bin. One thing that did occur is that my son decided to taste the paint. After one taste he decided it wasn't that yummy and I was glad all the ingredients came from my kitchen.

This is the recipe I tried from the website, you should allow almost half and hour too cool completely.

Finger Paint Recipes

Basic Finger Paint 
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 Cup cornstarch
2 Cup water (cold)
Food coloring
Dish detergent (aids in clean up)
Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a saucepan. Add cold water and stir completely. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly about 5 minutes. Cool, then divide into 4 cups or bowls. Add food coloring and a drop of detergent to each bowl.

Read more: http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/finger-paint-recipes.html#ixzz2Z5nc87Mb