Push Pin Art

Looking for a way to keep your kids entertained this winter break? I found this fun and easy little art project and it kept Emily and Mason occupied long enough for me to put Ryan down for a nap, take a shower and get dressed. That's a winner in my book!

Push Pin Art


What you'll need:
Push pins
Colored construction paper
Simple drawings with a dark outline (see photos for example)
White paper
Black marker

Directions:
Dot-trace the outlined drawing onto the white paper. Tape or staple the dotted outline to a sheet of construction paper. Have your child (who is old enough to carefully use a push pin) lay on the carpet or a soft surface. Then they punch tiny holes to make the outline of the art. When done, remove the white paper and display the construction paper on a window to let the light shine through the holes.

Holding Onto My Joy

I recently came upon an interesting article through a friend on Facebook: You Cannot Steal My Joy by Elizabeth Duffy.

The gist of the article had to do with staying positive while raising your children. It really hit home with me. The author has a friend who never yells at her children. I find this amazing. Never yells. Seriously? Never?

As I read on, there were a few key points that struck a chord with me. Duffy says that her friend tells her children when they are throwing a tantrum that it is fine but she's going to continue what she's working on and she tells the child, "But you're not going to steal my joy. It's mine, and you can't take it."

Wow. How mature and calm. So I was inspired to try a similar tactic with my four-year-old tantrum thrower. I didn't do so well but I'm going to keep trying.

Duffy continues the article with her thoughts on other areas of life that can steal our joy - especially during the holiday season. This article is a good read for anyone with children, in a relationship, or with co-workers or family members who might try to steal their joy at times.

Joy thief in action. Thankfully he gives back much more than he takes.

A Four-Year-Old's Favorite Joke

Mason loves to tell this joke. Over and over again.

I can't help but laugh every time, not because it's that funny after the 50th time but because of the smile on his face.

"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?!?!"
"Orange."
"Orange who?"
"Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Here's the comedian cracking himself up. 

This post is participating in Jenny Matlock's AlphabeThursday. 

Target Toy Coupons

What a deal! If you are like me and haven't started any Christmas shopping at all yet, then you might be able to use these coupons. I found a couple of 50% off coupons for toys my kids put on their Christmas lists, like the Littlest Pet Shop and $5 off an Easy Bake Oven. Yippee!

Here's the link to the coupons. Target Toy Coupons

You can select the coupons you want and print them out at home. There are 32 pages of coupons, which include everything from toys to food to household items.

**Note -- Some of the coupons expire TODAY (11/24/10) but others are good until the middle of December.

I came across these coupons on another blog I follow that has coupons and hot deals: A Little of This, A Little of That.

Happy shopping to you!

Homemade Pizza

One of the most fun meals my family has made in a while is our own homemade pizzas. I made my own pizza dough for the first time and it was surprisingly simple. It turned out to be just as tasty as any pre-made dough I have bought.

The best part was when the kids helped mix up the dough and roll out their own pizzas. We made little individual pizzas so they could add their own toppings. This works well for us since we have one veggie lover and one cheese & sausage pizza connoisseur.

I found this recipe on a cooking blog called Anna Maria Volpi: A Passion for Cooking. 

Basic Pizza Dough

1 tbs. active dry yeast or 1 oz. brewer's yeast

1 1/2 c. warm water

3 1/2 c. flour

1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt

There are pictures and steps on the original website, but basically you just activate the yeast in warm water for 5 minutes, then add the yeast, olive oil and salt to the flour. Mix together, knead and form a ball. Place the ball of dough in a bowl covered with a towel in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Then punch down the dough, roll it out on a flour surface, and top it with your favorite pizza toppings. I baked our pizzas for about 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven. 

Home Improvements + Kids = Fun

That's right, doing home improvements with your kids can be fun. Believe it or not!

I decided to tackle our small half bathroom near our family room. It was in dire need of a paint job. The kids and I head off to Home Depot to find paint and supplies.

This may be hard to believe but -- they were actually helpful when it came to painting. There is only one little streak of paint on the wooden molding that gives an indication that a four-year-old and six-year-old were part of our paint crew.

This post is participating in Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. 

Photo Gallery (by Emily)

Maybe Emily will grow up to be a photographer. At least once a week I'll pick up the camera to upload pictures and find an interesting array of photos that have the tell-tale signature style of a 6-year-old photo enthusiast.

Here's a photo gallery of her recent "work." Note the Halloween theme. I'm sure I'll be getting a call from a fancy-shmancy New York City art gallery any day now. 

Portrait of the artist -- 
She must have enlisted the help of her assistant (aka little brother Mason) for this one. 

Day 7 of the All About Me in 30 Days meme asks for a photo that makes me smile. This one of Emily definitely qualifies. 

All About Me in 30 Days - Day 6

Day 6: 20 of My Favorite Things

My first thought was that my favorite things are my family and God, but then I realized that they are not things -- duh! I had to debate whether to take this literally as "things" or just aspects of my life that I love. I decided to go with actual things, not people or places (the other types of nouns).

Twenty of my favorite things, in no particular order. I feel like I've left out some meaningful things but this is what I can think of at the moment. Coming up with 20 favorite things is not as easy as it sounds!

1. My bed (Sleep number! Yeah!)
2. Books
3. My computer
4. My family photo albums
5. Internet
6. Facebook
7. Decaf coffee
8. Costco Combo Pizza

9. Diet Coke
10. Music
11. My pink, fluffy bathrobe
12. My wedding photos
13. My kids' scrapbooks
14. McMenamin's cheeseburgers
15. Comfy warm-up pants
16. My bike
17. Sagelands Cabernet
18. My Dodge Caravan
19. DVR

20. My wedding ring

All About Me in 30 Days - Day 5

Favorite Quote:


Serenity Prayer


God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.


(So this is actually a prayer, not a quote but it is a wonderful one to remember in tough situations.) 

All About Me in 30 Days - Day 3 & 4

Okay, I'm already behind on my All About Me in 30 Days meme. No surprise there.

Day 3 asks what my favorite t.v. program is. That leads me to the other post I'm behind on: The Biggest Loser Challenge.

The Biggest Loser is one of my favorite shows and I started my own weight loss challenge. I've only lost 1 lb. in the past two weeks so I haven't been feeling inspired to write about it. I'm hoping that next week I will have better news to report when I write about The Biggest Loser Challenge Week 6.

My other favorite t.v. program used to be Grey's Anatomy (which I still enjoy) but has been usurped by Parenthood.

Day 4 asks what is my favorite book. My all-time favorite book, which I would highly recommend is Jane Eyre by Charolette Bronte.