Wonderful Day

I had a great Saturday!

I went out in the front yard to do a little flower work and there was a box on my porch.

Yea!!!  It was for me.! 

I tore into that box like a kid with a Christmas present.

I won this awesome kitchen set in a rafflecopter contest over at 

Jay Tried and True 

and I received my box of goodies today.  

Look at all these fantastic Betty Crocker pieces. 

I love, love, love it!

Thanks so much Jay, you made my day

Then I got into this awesome bubble battle with my little 2 /12 year old son.

My hubby got this great photo of momma falling on her butt.  

Ouch, that smarted just a tad, but totally work the oowie.

Then I went for a car ride!  Oh yea, momma's got it going on.

It's not that I'm to big, the car is to little.

But that little car can really go!

Once the boys were calmed down from a play day with momma

I got to go out and do some garden work in my new, totally awesome

garden apron that I purchased from 

Cheryl over at Sew Can Do.

Cheryl had made this apron as a post for her blog and has a wonderful tutorial 

if you would like to have your own garden apron.  Go over and check it out.

I fell in love with this apron and contacted Cheryl to see if she would sell it 

to me.  Garden play is so much more fun if you have a cute apron to wear, lol.

Thanks Cheryl for this apron.  I absolutely love it!

Then last but not least, fresh cheesecake with cherry topping with whipped cream
and fresh grated dark chocolate.

What a wonderful day!

Angel

Ideas for Outdoor Play Areas

I’m so happy to be guest posting on Sew Crafty Angel and sharing a little bit of my family with all of you. I hope you find this post helpful. I know I’m not the only momma who will be bald before summer arrives if those pesky kids don’t get outside!

As my twins have gotten older, it’s become increasingly difficult to keep them engaged inside. They bore easily with the same toys, books and tickle or chase games, and I definitely let them watch too much television as it is. In order to break up the monotony of the day, we’ve started getting outside more. But again, the ball pit and plastic playhouse only holds their interest so long before it’s off to mindless running around straight for ant beds or dog poop! My husband and I have been on a mission to create a kid-friendly play area in our back yard. Here are some budget-wise ideas we’ve come up with:

1.      Create an outdoor chalkboard. Chalk art is fun and mess-free for toddlers and kids of all ages. And let’s be honest, it’s pretty fun for adults too! There are so many great DIY tutorials out there for creating the perfect outdoor chalkboard. We have decided to build our own, create a frame for it and hang it on the brick wall in our covered patio area just off the back of our house. Hanging the chalkboard in our main entertaining area will create a focal centerpiece and give the children their own space in the “adult” area. (They’re going to end up there anyway, no matter how many fun, bright-colored toys are in the yard!) Great tutorial here from The Burke Family.

Photo from: The Burke Family blog

2.      Sandboxes. This is a classic for little kids. We have a little sand and water table that we have yet to use for its purpose. It currently holds various toys and balls and is used as an outdoor toy box. It’s probably too small for the twins because they don’t like to share. But a large sand box where they had their own corner would give them lots of room to dig, dump and make sand castles. I love this tutorial from Modern Parents Messy Kids for a sand box complete with door covers to keep out the elements, and the pets!

3.      Natural play gardens. A great alternative to a sand box is a play garden. Fence off a little area, throw down some soil and let your little ones dig, plant and explore. I think an area like this should really be called an outdoor classroom! I can think of tons of Tot School activities chock full of sensory and imaginative play and lots of lessons on science and math. Every kid should be allowed to play in the mud! Great tutorial here from Imagination Tree. 

Photo from: Imagination Tree blog.

4.      Play tent. Rainy days are always great for building forts and tents indoors, but I love the idea of creating a removable play tent for the outside. A canopy play tent that can be hung from a tree is sure to be enjoyed by toddlers and kids of all ages. My sweet twins love to play hide and seek with the curtains in our home, and having something like this outside that can’t be ripped out of the wall would be awesome! Great tutorial on how to make a hula hoop canopy here from The Craft Nest, and a video tutorial here on how to make a canopy using a craft loop from Learn to Grow.

What are some of your ideas for creating engaging play with your little ones outdoors?

Entertain Kids

I'm always looking for ways to entertain Jacob.  

I love to upcycle everything I can get my hands on

so I decided to look on Pinterest and see what I could find.

I found lots of cheap and fun things to do with him that are really fun.

Take a look at the Pinteresting ideas I found.

Pirate Party inspiration!! 

 Got a sandbox?  

Have a Treasure hunt!

Recycled 2 liter bottles and some felt.

Turn the pack and play into a ball pit- just buy balls!!!

Would this actually make little boys wash their hands more?

Recycled Tin Can Windsocks

Shaving cream on the slide for loads of fun.

Talk about clean playtime

Tin Foil River in the yard. cheap fun.

Valentine Craft: Felt and Tic Tac poster board Toe Hearts

Cardboard tubes + box = hours of fun!

Brilliant! It's a shower curtain (liner) taped to the kitchen floor. 

The road is drawn on with permanent marker and the kids 

can color to their hearts content then drive their cars on it.

Place a tarp under or at the bottom of slide, 

set up sprinkler to keep slide and tarp wet...hours of water fun

Fun for a rainy day: use Christmas lights, a sheet, 

and chairs to create this tunnel.

Portable roads that are easy for kids to put together and will travel easily, 

made out of old denim and yellow paint. 

Velcro helps them stick to carpet.  Awesome idea.

My kids are having a blast with all these activities!

Hope yours have great fun too.

Angel