Remember the days when holes in pants were considered messy and poor? When did we get the trend where pants are being bought with holes in them? It truly baffles me.
I have to admit though, as my kids wore holes in their pants, I became a little lax and let them wear them anyway. It was the trend after all.
After a General Conference address by Jeffrey R. Holland where he said “Sunday best has lost it’s meaning in our time“, I recommitted myself to pay more attention to what we wear all the time, not just on Sunday.
The holey pants had to go. Being the frugal person that I am however, I wasn’t just going to toss these otherwise perfectly good pants out! Instead, we like to upgrade our pants into shorts.
Summer Shorts How-To
Bonus here – you know how girls shorts are always way too short. I mean, WAY TOO SHORT! This simple fix gives your summer shorts that are the perfect length and fun to wear.
Here’s what you do. Take a pair of pants with holes in the knees. Cut along the hole that is up highest on one leg. This will be your guide for cutting along the other leg. Fold the pants in half, and cut off the other leg.
Ta Da! Shorts!
Being the creative fun type (hahaha…ok I do try sometimes!), I then pulled out some fun crafts to really give our summer shorts an upgrade. Why not dress them up a bit?
With fabric markers and iron-on patches, you can really turn an old pair of pants into something new. If you personally don’t feel creative, turn the project over to your kids, and let them express themselves on their shorts.
This is a great activity for when the kids are bored, and it’s raining outside, or just because you need a day to actually get stuff done around the house this summer! Iron on patches and fabric markers can be found at most fabric stores, or as always on Amazon.
I suggest a parent helps with the cutting and any iron on patches. From there though, this is a project the kids can run with. We personally went with a patriotic theme to get ready for the 4th of July this week.
We styled the shorts with a fun striped shirt before heading out for some photos. Read How to Style Summer Shorts for more tips on styling your new creations.
I absolutely love to travel. It seems many of my generation have this pull to travelling these days. However it’s not always easy when you have a family in tow.
Some of my favorite family memories were when we traveled somewhere – Washington DC, Quebec, Colorado. Most of our trips had some purpose – visit family, visit the temple, learn history. But some, like most of the trips to Quebec, were purely just to visit and be touristy.
I’ve tried to make some kind of travel a possibility in my adult life every year. Often it’s just backyard tourism, but we get out of our home state periodically too. This year we happened to take a last minute trip to Utah for my Father-In-Laws funeral. Despite the nature of the trip, we still managed to find new things to explore along the way.
We traveled there and back caravan style with my brother-in-laws family. Along the way, my sister-in-law and I talked about writing up this post. They do quite a bit of travelling every year, and so with her experienced help, I’m ready to share some tips to get your family on the road!
Before You Travel
Start with a Clean Car
I can’t emphasize this one enough! If your car isn’t clean when you head out on a trip, you won’t be able to enjoy any of the time spent in the car. A lot of time is spent in the car, as you travel from point A to point B, and then around whatever destination you’ve chosen to go to. Getting the kids involved is crucial, so while I prep the house, I send the kids out to clean up the car. They take grocery bags our to fill with trash, and any toys/shoes/socks/books get brought back in the house and put away. Once the stuff is out, I send them back with some cleaning wipes and the vacuum.
Plan Your Route
This is another great way to get the kids involved. With smaller kids grab some paper maps and sit down to draw out the route. Let them help pick stopping points that sound interesting to them. For older kids, download some map apps and together plot your route. My favorites to use are Google Trips and Roadtrippers. Both these apps will search for points of interest along your route.
With small kids finding a park or play area can be key to everyone’s happiness. During the summer, and on weekends it’s usually pretty easy to find a school playground to play at.
Packing the Car
With a clean car and a map of your route, it’s time to pack the car and head out on your travels. The #1 essential Renee got me to buy, and I wouldn’t travel without now, are packing cubes! Holy moly – we have a Honda Pilot, and 5 kids. If you know anything about the Pilot you know that there is virtually no trunk space. Packing cubes have meant we can pack everything we need in the trunk, we can still see out the back window, and we aren’t taking up precious body space around the kids. This is key for happy kid travelers. The packing cubes come in a variety of colors and sizes, so we bought a different color for each member of the family in the large size.
I like to put a grocery sack on the back of each headrest for collecting garbage. This is a clear visual for the kids to put their trash instead of on the floor. As you stop for gas or to stretch legs, take out the filled bags and replace with empty ones. Keeping the car clean throughout the travel is key to my sanity. On that note, I would also bring some kleenex and baby wipes.
Along the Way
Don’t forget the snacks
Unless you plan on stopping to eat a bunch, you’ll want to bring along some snacks. We try to balance out the sweet and savory, along with the junk and healthy. Depending on what our budget is, I’ll pack a small cooler of sandwiches for lunch and dinner. Those small cereal boxes are a great breakfast if you’ll be on the road in the morning, and you can buy small containers of milk to pour into them, or eat dry. Kids love it.
We suggest packing individual snack bags for each of the kids. This keeps them from bothering you for snacks the whole way, and from fighting over the last chip.
Also, make sure you pack everything in disposable. You don’t want stinky tupperware in your car once it’s been emptied. The only reusable item should be a water bottle to keep everyone hydrated. These can be filled up with water at gas stations and rest stops along the way. It also keeps kids from needing to use the bathroom too much from sugary drinks.
What to Bring
Renee suggests noise canceling headphones for the driver. She and her husband switch off driving, so whoever is behind the wheel gets the headphones, and the non-driver gets to take care of the kids needs. If extra noise from the kids in the car tends to drive you a little batty, this will make the actual travelling part a bit nicer.
Coloring pencils and paper are great, just don’t bring crayons. They melt…ask me how I know. Pencils store really nicely in empty pringles cans, and they fit perfectly in the car drink holders too. Or wrap up a few new toys and periodically through the trip, let the kids open something new.
Travel Activities
These days everyone has a DVD player in the car – ok not! We don’t. I’ll be honest, when I travel, it’s because I want to become closer as a family, and time spent in the car away from the TV is perfect for that. So here’s some ideas beyond a DVD player.
Listen to books together. We love the Hooplah and Libby apps for finding free audiobooks. These apps connect your library card, so it’s just like checking out the audio from your library, but on your phone. Sometimes books can be tough to listen to in the car though, which in that case, you might try Podcasts! Some of our favorites for the whole family are Story Pirates, Brains On, But Why, and Tumble Science.
Another fun way to bring the whole family together is with what we call Car Games. Play a little “Would You Rather” or “I’m going on vacation and I’m bringing a….”.
Make this the year that you say YES to more traveling as a family. Even if it is only in your backyard. Get out and see the world, because families that travel together will be closer together.
Experts say that children should spend as much as 3 hours a day outside. Meanwhile, most children are actually getting an average of 5-10 minutes a day playing outside. The health benefits of outdoor play are numerous, from better eyesight to decreased stress. Certain studies report that an hour of play outside each day is just as effective for severe ADHD as medication (and it’s side-effect free!)
There are plenty of reasons that kids spend more time indoors now. Sometimes, it’s simply the appeal of video games and computers that keeps them inside. Other times, it’s our own anxiety as parents over things like traffic and pests. It’s true that it’s important to take some safety measures when your child is playing outdoors, from UV protection to talks about stranger danger. However, the payoff is easily worth it.
Children who play outside are more likely to have improved social and problem-solving skills, better balance and spatial intelligence, and better immunity and overall health. Getting natural light leads to better sleep and a healthy supply of Vitamin D. So, what are you waiting for? Get your kids outside!
Here are a few ideas to make it happen:
Craft Tables on the Porch
Do you have a porch, or a deck? If so, you probably usually look at it as something that’s useful for entertaining, or for family meals outside. However, how often do you use it as a play space for your children? A porch is the perfect transition place for activities that could otherwise be indoors. It can especially be a prime spot for potentially messy crafts.
So, maybe it’s time to introduce your children to finger paints, watercolors, or even papier-mache. If they’re a bit older, consider trying out macrame, beading, or toll painting. Introduce a big project, like life-size self-portraits or perhaps a huge treasure map of the backyard. And next time you’re ready for a small upgrade on your home, spruce up the porch to make it a place that both you and your children will love to be.
Children’s Garden Space
Your yard is populated with decorative plants that are meant to be appealing to adults and easy to take care of. However, most of these plants are probably uninteresting to your children. But what if you involved your children in a little bit of gardening themselves? Try out planting some easy-to-maintain vegetables, like runner beans or cherry tomatoes that will be fun for your children to munch. Plant some interesting flowers like snapdragons, or giant sunflowers that grow so fast you can chart their progress from one day to another. Sprinkle some seeds for wildflowers that your children will enjoy collecting in the summer.
Mud
Speaking of getting down into the dirt, when is the last time that your children really sunk their hands down in the dirt? When’s the last time when YOU did? Sometimes our aversion to dirt is completely out of proportion with how convenient it is to clean up afterwards. Children should get dirty! That’s what we have mud rooms for. So, if you have a patch of your yard that’s mostly just dirt, dig some pits and fill them up with water. Let the kids have fun, and get ready to scrub them off later in the bathtub.
If your yard is full of more lawn than mud, then you can still have fun with the hose. This link has some great ideas for water games the kids will enjoy.
Easy Lawn Games
If your children are naturally inclined to certain sports, like soccer or basketball, it’s probably easier to get them outside. And of course, this can be a lifelong love that will pay off in many ways.
However, if your children are young for sports, or just not inclined towards competitive games, then maybe you should try out some lower-impact lawn games. These are usually easy to set up, and can be played with two or even one person. Consider making space for games like badminton, horseshoes, even bocci ball. Check out interesting lawn games like King’s Kub, or cornhole. Not only will they provide hours of entertainment and activity if your kids take a shine to them, but you might even find that you yourself like to have them around.
I’m bored. Two words you never have to hear again when your kids have Strawbees. I received a sample of Strawbees for review. All opinions are my own.
It’s an age-old knowledge of experienced parents – boxes hold more fun than the cool new toy that was delivered inside it. Kids can find a million uses for the box while the toy gets pushed aside, forgotten, or bored of.
Who know straws could hold just as much fun! I’m over here kicking myself for not figuring it out sooner.
For the last few weeks, the kids have not come to me complaining of boredom. Instead, they are begging me to pull out the Strawbees. I’ve found all kinds of inventions hanging around the house.
Venice made a hat, that turned into some kind of warrior’s weapon. Chloe made a dog and a full sized violin. Rose played around making a cube and is working on figuring out how to make a tray to hold her iPod and earbuds. Lincoln, with some help, turned what was supposed to be spheres into armbands that shoot lasers. On his own, he made a miniature bow that shoots straws.
All of this made out of regular old drinking straws and simple connectors – strawbees. The Inventor Kit comes with 400 pieces and a booklet with 21 fun inventions. It also includes a template for the boomerang, and a ruler for measuring the straws to different sizes.
I’m loving these strawbees, though I do have one con. Looking at the price for the inventor kit, I feel it is a bit pricey. The pieces are reusable, but for a bunch of drinking straws and connectors – I don’t know if I’d be willing to pay for it. However, the hours of fun my kids are getting from it, may prove me otherwise. I’ll have to let you make that decision.
I received the Kidloland App download at no charge. All opinions are 100% my own thoughts.
I’m going to get real here. The last few months I have not been the kind of Mom I really want to be. Working and going to school, and going through a pregnancy that has been more physically draining than my previous four has left me well .. drained.
My friend told me about YouTube Kids, and how she lets her girls watch shows on there without worrying about the content they’re receiving. So I downloaded and loved it! At least, I did until I found I was using it to entertain for far too long, with not as much education value going on. Something needed to change.
Then Kidloland appeared. OK, I was skeptic, mostly of myself. Would another app make me feel any less guilty for the lack of time I am spending with my only child during the day? Probably not. It would at least be more educational directed during the busiest part of my day, and times where I truly don’t feel good.
Kidloland has seriously so much going on in it, that after a month I don’t think we’ve even touched half of the fun inside the app. With over 1000 Nursery Rhymes, Songs, Stories, Activities and Games every day offers something new to discover. The nursery rhymes are my favorites while Lincoln likes to hang out with the Dinosaurs and Trucks listening to songs and games featuring his interests.
While Lincoln hasn’t learned to read yet, he is learning the alphabet and has started associating that letters, put together, make words. Words that he likes to pretend he knows. The running words on the bottom of the screen during each song helps enhance his learning, even if he doesn’t realize it. Along with that, he can actually interact with the app. Touching different items during the songs cause them to do fun things or change colors.
This post was sponsored by @GBChildUsa as part of a Blog Blast Activation for Influence Central.
The days of bulky strollers and low-quality umbrella strollers are behind us! Have you seen the gb Pockit at Babies R’ US yet? I wish I had this when I used the stroller on a daily basis! So handy, so convenient, and check out how compact it is! Did you know the gb Pockit stroller is 2014’s Guinness World Records most compact stroller? Way cool.
gb Pockit Twitter Party
Do you enjoy chatting about family adventures? Love to get out and around town, or take off an a plane to far away places? Head over to Twitter to chat and win prizes!
When: April 28, 2016, Thursday
Time: 1-2pm ET
Moderators: @MomCentral
Brand Participants: @GBChildUSA
Hashtag: #gbPockit
Prizes: 2 pre-party winners and 6 party winners will receive $50 Amex gift cards and 1 grand prize winner will receive the gb Pockit Stroller
When the kids are sick and have to stay home from school, having a sick kids basket will keep them from feeling bored. Thanks to Pfizer for sponsoring this post. The Pfizer Pediatric Platform products, information, and additional gift pack have been provided by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. All thoughts and reviews are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you click through and make a purchase.
I am not a doctor! For medical advice consult with your local doctor.
There’s little I dread more, then a kid waking up on a school day sick. Then they have to stay home. Your day is thrown off, and if you were planning any errands – restocking the empty fridge or returning overdue library books – they get thrown out the window.
Even if it’s not a school day, getting kids to rest when they are sick is a challenge. After Venice had a bout of the sickies last week, I decided it was high time we had an activity basket that only came out on sick days. Sick Just Got Real™!
I sat down with my sister in law to make this list, and while shopping at Target picked up a couple more items that stood out to me. These are all things that I would find useful no matter the sickness. From colds, flu, and strep, to broken bones and post-surgery recovery.
In My Sick Kids Basket:
audiobooks/books
coloring
ball
playing cards
notecards
pencils
LEGO set
BrainQuest
WaterBottle
Sanitizing Wipes
Battery operated LED Light stick
Applesauce squeezers
Individual Gatorade Packs
My sick kids basket may not look like yours, but these are things I know my kids would enjoy. I tried to focus on items that could be wiped down before putting away to avoid spreading germs. – Books, playing cards, balls, LEGO pieces, LED Light and the water bottle are all washable with the sanitizing wipes stored in the basket.
Keeping the kids’ minds sharp while missing school is also important. I’m not talking stress them out because they do need to be resting, but games like BrainQuest will keep them learning in a fun way.
I also added note cards and pencils to the basket. What better way to teach them the value of handwritten notes, then when they’re stuck relying on others to care for them?
Applesauce and Gatorade should be staples in every home. If your family is like mine though, if those are sitting in the cupboard, they won’t last until someone is sick. By storing them in the sick kids’ basket I know I’ll have some when they are really needed.
As much as I love my sick kids’ basket, and it helps keep them confined to one area without getting too bored, it’s not going to help get them well. Taking another page out of my sister in laws book –and it helps her hubby is a PA – I decided I needed to start separating our medicines by illness.
I’m so tired of pulling out our Medicine Box to try and find a fever reducer, or cough suppressant. By the time I find it, or realize we’re out, the medicine box is a mess, and the kids are just dying!
Thanks to Pfizer Pediatric Products, I now have a well-stocked Cough and Cold Medicine Basket! In this smaller basket, I have all our get better needs – Children’s Advil®, Children’s Robitussin®, and Children’s Dimetapp®.
If you ask my husband, I hate taking medicine (truth), but when it comes to getting the kids better, I know and trust the Pfizer Pediatric family. With the Chldren’s Dimetapp® being alcohol free, I feel safe giving it to them.
I then added in my extras like Chapstick, Tissues, and Honey. Honey is another one of those food staples everyone usually has, but when I really need it, it’s all out. Keeping one bottle in the Cough and Cold Medicine Box will make sure I always have it handy.
Help Kids Avoid the Sickies
Wash Hands frequently. Help teach them how important this is, and practice with them.
Eat Healthy and Exercise. I think kids naturally rebound from, and have a hard time resting during the sickies, because they are generally fairly active. This goes for adults too. The better you take care of your body, the better chance you have of avoiding illness or rebounding faster from it
Take Vitamin C. Don’t like taking pills, there are a lot of natural ways to boost your Vitamin C intake. I personally love this Vitamin C Boost drink.
Probiotics! Another staple, but something you can’t really keep in the medicine box, is yogurt! Full of probiotics, they help fight those bad bugs.
The next step is keeping these baskets out of the kids reach. We have an awesome shelf in the laundry room that is even too high for me without pulling in a kitchen chair to grab. This is a safer location than under our master bathroom sink where we’ve previously stored them.
What would be in Your Kids Sick Basket?
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I am at that point where I don’t want to cook. I want to spend all my time outdoors with the kids while we still have this sunshine. Maybe it’s the extra sun in the evening, or maybe I am in desperate need of a mental break – more likely it’s both. I have had a crazy whirlwind of a week too. The blessings have been pouring in with extra work for myself, and an unexpected morning with Mark – but those also usually come with a few extra stressors. I’ve returned to one of my former bad habits, and in an effort to push myself decided to try and take a 6 week course in 2 weeks. It’s crazy over here ya’ll!
When I started to browse your recipes through the week, my eyes continued to land on these little bites. They were all something I could whip up, and snack on as needed throughout the afternoon. Of course, I knew the kids wouldn’t quite enjoy the same finger foods as me, but you all never disappoint, and I found something they would enjoy that was comparable to the snacks I want to make myself!
Finger Snacks Features
First for the adults! These are great snacks I can enjoy while studying and working!
Caramelized Fennel Tartines with Red Pepper and Herbed Goat Cheese
This is a sponsored post. I received Thrive product in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Food storage. It’s something I believe strongly in. Over the last 6 months, I’ve been chatting with one of my dearest friends, Laura, about her new business, selling Thrive Life. She and I really get each other. We live on a limited budget and have often needed the blessings that come from storing food. Through job loss and moves across the country, our food storage has made sure we don’t go hungry.
I kept telling Laura that I needed to resupply our food storage from our latest move. Mainly our 72-hour kits that we ate up in the 3-day drive from North Dakota to Indiana. Being an awesome friend, Laura suggested I try the Snackies.
When our box arrived in the mail, the kids got a little overly excited. “SNACKIES! Mom, you got us Snackies!!!?” Sure did kids! Only not the cool Snackeez2 in 1 cups they thought it was. When we opened the box there were a few sighs of disappointment, but then they tried the snacks and all was well in the world again.
They ate the Peach slices one day after school, but the rest we decided to save for a family breakfast of oatmeal. See one of the best cheap meals we can have when going through a financial hardship is oatmeal. I’ve never been able to get my kids to eat it unless it’s the flavored overly sugared ones. So I whipped up some Creamy Wheat from our food storage one morning and opened up all the Snackies. Yogurt bites, strawberries, raspberries, bananas and a little sweet treat with chocolate chips.
The kids actually ate without complaint. There were some interesting combinations going on, but they did eat! Was it their favorite breakfast ever? No. When it comes to living frugally, though, we can’t always have our favorites. Now that I know my kids will eat oatmeal, especially with Thrive Snackies mixed in, I can add both the oatmeal and the Snackies to our long term food storage with peace of mind.
The Snackies come in all varieties, including veggies! I can’t get the kids to just snack on the veggies yet, but I plan on putting them in our car emergency kit. If we ever find ourselves stranded on the side of the road, we’ll have something to nourish us until help arrives.
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FuelTheirAdventures #CollectiveBias
Every day should be an adventure, but getting the right start, and putting your best foot forward aren’t always easy. Thanks to Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies I’ve found a way to start the day with a smile, and give my kids an adventurous day.
It’s 6:30 AM.
I drag myself out of bed, because after 4 kids, working from home, and trying to go back to school, I’ve become a night owl instead of a morning person. Somewhere around 6:45-7:00, Little Prince awakes. He seems happy, until I pick him up. It is then he shows his true morning feelings.
“NO! Don’t put me down! No!”
“Buddy” I say, “I have to get sisters up. I have to make breakfast. I have to get dressed!” But he’s inconsolable; all he wants is me to hold him until he cane make sense of this time called morning. Then I found it, his key to a morning smile – Dannon® Danimals® Cotton Candy Smoothie, and a special coloring page.
Hoping this wasn’t a fluke of a morning, we went back to Walmart to stock up on my morning sanity saver. I had all the kids with me on this particular grocery shopping trip, so the girls were telling me all about how if we found the Golden Bongo in our Dannon® Danimals® their school would win a Play 60 NFL Field Day with the pros. Make sure you grab the specially marked packages in your search for the Golden Bongo
Having stocked up on Dannon® Danimals® smoothies, the kids all thought they’d be great to have for breakfast, lunch, and after school snack. While I generally try to limit their snacks, this is one I’m OK with more frequently as it’s full of Only the Good Stuff® – no artificial colors/flavors and no high fructose corn syrup – it’s also full of calcium and Vitamin D.
Usually twice a week Little Prince and I get together with my sister-in-law and her little boy. These 2 boys have so much fun, but with all that energy comes big appetites too. Rather then let them raid our pantry and fridge, this week I put together some Adventure Snack Packs ahead of time. All I had to do was grab one of their favorite snacks – graham crackers – and pair it with their favorite drink – Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies – and they were ready for an adventurous day.
It was now 7:00 PM.
I slowly backed out of Little Prince’s room with a smile on my face. Hugging his favorite book, and already deep in sleep, I knew we had a successful day. From coloring to outdoor play, it truly was a day of simple adventures. I can look forward to bright mornings again, because I’ve got my stash of smoothies.
How do you fuel their adventure? Check out more on-the-go fun from the Dannon® Social Hub.
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