Pet Rocks

With the sound of the final bell ringing in their ears the kids burst through the doors of the school in a flurry of excitement. Bikes and scooters parading down the streets in a race to freedom... by the looks on their faces you'd think they were experiencing the heat of the sun on their faces for the very first time. And boy does it feel GOOD! 

School had been out for all of 20 minutes when Addie came up to me and said, "So mom! What kind of fun things are we going to do today?!" 

Uh... I dunno. RELAX? Play outside? Celebrate the fact that I get to take a brief hiatus from driving back and forth to school 3 times a day? Rejoice in the end of homework and spelling tests for a few months?! 

My brilliant suggestions were met with doubtful eyes and scowling faces. 

Shocker. 

"Why don't we make pet rocks?"

"What's a pet rock?"

"Oh my sweet children. Prepare for some serious fun! We're going on a walk!" 

We put Zach in the stroller and set off in search of the perfect rocks. We picked up a few friends along our journey, and they helped us scout out which rocks looked the most like different animals. 

"This one is shaped like a unicorn!" "This one would be a perfect butterfly!" 

Once we were happy with our collection, we busted out our handy dandy placements, and the paint!

(We seriously use these placemats for everything! They wipe clean so easily!) 

The kids had so much fun creating what started out to be pet rocks, and quickly transformed into abstract art. No matter- it was still a blast, and most importantly it kept the kids happy and engaged for hours! 

The baby took a break for a light snack...

And some much needed gardening. :) 

But for the most part, we spent the entire afternoon working on our pet rock project. 

You may wonder, after all that effort, why aren't there any pictures of the finished product? Well, the thing is... we left the rocks out in the sun to dry. My 3 year old decided the rocks looked hot and needed some water. So she dutifully filled up the watering can and gave them a drink. 

We now have a rainbow colored sidewalk, and naked rocks. 

(Turns out Crayola washable paints REALLY are washable!) 

Needless to say there were tears and apologies, followed by popsicles and promises of another pet rock adventure another day. :)

What kind of boredom busters have you been up to this week?

Reading Party

Call me a nerd, but I adored Read-a-thon days back in school. Uninterrupted reading and candy time?  Two of my favorite things!  So we invited the cousins, bought some treats (letting them each pick a kind of candy in the bulk section scored me major mom points), and picked out some books.  Don't forget to drag bedding, pillows, and anything soft to the floor so you can all lie down together!

If you aren't addicted to buying books (like me), or you just want to throw some new ones in the mix to make it special, you could go to the library or the bookstore first.  I bought a million {ahem} a few books with our school book orders and saved them for special incentives or rewards, so I was planning on pulling out the stack and letting everyone choose one to read.  When the special day came, I forgot.  But hey, they didn't know, and they still had fun!

In the end, they were a tadge more interested in the candy than the books...what was I expecting?  But I think a read-a-thon is a great way to make reading fun and exciting.  And your kids' teachers will be proud of you for remembering to read this summer!

 

Click HERE for more fun summer ideas!

Go Camping... in Your Backyard.

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Itching for a family getaway, but not wanting to spend a bunch of money! Or pack a bajillion bags for yourself and all your kids, for that matter?
Seriously--how is it possible for such tiny people to need SO. MUCH. STUFF!?!?

Drag out your tent, or borrow one from a friend!
Set it up in the backyard--or... have your handsome-pants husband set it up--and fill it with blankets, sleeping bags, and pillows!

Yes. This is a HUGE tent for two adults and two littles. But the other tent was busted. So we defaulted to the tent mansion.

We roasted hotdogs and s'mores for dinner over a firepit in the backyard to play up the camping theme.
 Mmmm... Fire-roasted hot dogs really are the best!

I have a confession. I've never really liked s'mores. 

*GASP*

I know, I know. There's just something about the plain old room temperature chocolate ruining the heavenly gooey texture of the freshly roasted marshmallow that has never sat well with me. I've heard all sorts of alternate s'mores methods (like substituting the chocolate with a reeses peanut butter cup), but have yet to find a real winner. 

But this time around, I had an epiphany!

Do NOT tell me you figured this out when you were seven. I'm feeling all proud of myself for my astounding creativity!

I decided to fix the problem--the plain old boring chunk of chocolate. 

I roasted the mallow, just like normal, and built the s'more just like I usually would.

But I didn't stop there!

I roasted the entire s'more for another 30 seconds or so.

(I just rested it on top of our double pronged roasting sticks. Not the most secure, but my s'more made it out unscathed!)

The result? A warm, gooey, melty sandwich of goodness.
Tell me that doesn't look amazing.
I DARE YOU.

Next on the schedule?
WEAR THE KIDS OUT.
This is what the husbands are for, right?

I'm not exactly sure what was happening here, but it looks pretty fabulous!

I've also been trying to get more "selfies" of the entire family, so... I subjected my family to some camera time, too, while we were at it.

The two-year-old needs some practice on focusing, sure. And her older sister looks SUPER happy, but you know. We've been documented. We'll go ahead and call this Family Selfie a success.

Once it started to get dark, we gathered in the tent for stories.
The Spooky Old Tree is one of my kids' favorites.
Here it is as told by my three-year-old:

Then came the tricky part. Sleeping. 

Did my children fall asleep right away?

Nope.

HEAVENS, NO.

It was a WINDY night, so that made it a little more difficult for them to drift off.

My two-year-old is still in a crib, so the lack of boundaries freaked her out a bit, too.

But man, once they were out, we were in business. They slept WAY better than their daddy and I did, that's for sure! 

Hang on, hang on--we're not through yet! Don't forget the most important part! 

Bedhead pictures!

Mr. Handsome-Pants and I were a bit weary the rest of the day, but it was totally worth it. The girls LOVED it, and keep asking to do it again. 

What sort of activities would you incorporate into your backyard campout? What are your favorite treats to roast over the fire?

Create a New Holiday!

Wide open schedule? Kids feeling restless? Itching for a treat?

I have your solution.

Create your very own holiday!

My 3-and-a-half-year-old looooved making a hundred paper heart valentines to "heart-attack" my husbands car with for Valentine's Day. She has been begging to make valentines again ever since. So when she climbed into bed with us one morning, asking yet again to make more, "Davison Day" was officially born.

Creating your own holiday can be as simple or complicated as you feel up to. 

We pulled out a bunch of scrap paper and cardstock, stickers, fancy scissors, and glue (all of which we had on hand) to make Davison Day cards to send to some family and friends. 

We wrote a personalized note and glued it on the back or inside. They aren't anything super fancy--but all unique and original! 

We got some pictures printed off to send to the relatives that haven't seen us for a while--one of the whole family, and another one that is just TOO cute not to send along of the girls getting ready for the neighborhood easter egg hunt. 

Then we dropped those at the post office all together. 

Creating your very own holiday is also a great excuse to make a yummy treat with the kiddos. Our youngest was napping by this point in the day, so our three-year-old and Daddy went to the store to get some fixin's for a cake. 

We kept it classy and got a cake mix with some funfetti frosting. Only the best. :)

No pictures of the cake, unfortunately. It didn't last long.

I know. You are all heartbroken to be robbed of the opportunity to see our infinitely creative Davison Day cake. You'll just have to use your imaginations!

So our "empty" day turned into a brand new holiday (which may be celebrated more than once a year, depending on our card-making and cake-eating needs). You can create an arbitrary family holiday like we did, or you could find something else to celebrate with the kiddos. Potty training? Hair cuts? It's sunny outside? The possibilities are endless. 

What new holiday will you create?

What will you celebrate?

Click HERE for more fun summer ideas!

Summer Yummin'

My kids love to concoct yummy treats, but this time of year, who wants to heat up their house to 350 degrees making cookies or cupcakes?  Give me the microwave, and (if pressed) the stove top every time!  I'm going to share some of my family's favorite warm weather goodies, and I'd love to hear from you: what are YOUR favorite summer time delectables?

Chex Muddy Buddies This treat is a family favorite-- first, because it's delicious, and second, because it's gluten free! Truly, you don't get better than chocolate plus peanut butter plus powdered sugar! And they are great for summer time, because you can use the microwave and finish them in 2.5 seconds (give or take a few)! The recipe is at the Chex Website.     Chex Lemon Buddies While we're on the subject, I saw this recipe on the back of a box of Rice Chex, and couldn't wait to try it out.  Let me tell you, it's even more delicious than it looks--the perfect mingling of sweet chocolate and tart lemon, it's less rich than its "muddy" counterpart.  Which means you will have to be careful to not eat the WHOLE bag in one sitting...OOPS!!!   As you can see, my boys loved shaking the powdered sugar on. It was a job I was happy to let them do--and it didn't cause me any deep breaths or panic! This recipe is also over at the Chex Website.  Might I mention?  Freshly grated lemon peel + freshly squeezed juice?  WORTH IT!    

Jell-O Jigglers

For a sweet low calorie treat, try Jell-O!  A small (3 oz.) box + 2/3 c. of boiling water is perfect for a mold with 6 of these Phineas and Ferb shapes.  No mold?  No problem--use 2 big (6 oz.) boxes, and 2 and 1/2 cups of boiling water in a 9 x 13 pan.  Refrigerate for 3 hours (waiting's the hard part!!) Then use cookie cutters to make fun shapes!  This one's a huge hit at my house.  The highlight of my kids' week was a Jell-O sale at the grocery store, and I let them both choose a flavor.  They thought I was the best Mommy in the whole world!  (Don't grow up.  Let's stay here where we can eat Jell-O together forever and that's all you need to adore me.  Aight?)

No Bake "Mud" Cookies
I mentioned that there isn't a better flavor combination than chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar, but I'm going to have to eat my words already.  In between mouthfuls of these delicious cookies, of course.  Chocolate, peanut butter and COCONUT is what I plan on eating every day in heaven.  This is a great recipe to make with the littles too.  You can make them do the stovetop stirring :D (with proper supervision, of course!!)  I cut the sugar in half (I was making a double batch and it felt too cRaZy to put 2 whole cups in!!) but they turned out delicious!

1 c. sugar 2 T. baking cocoa                   1/2 c. butter 1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. peanut butter 4-1/2 c. rolled oats 1 c. coconut

Combine the first four ingredients together in a large saucepan and cook on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Let boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add last four ingredients.  Mix well and drop by teaspoonful onto wax paper.  Let cool.  Eat!
Makes approx. 2 dozen cookies

Raspberry Mojitos
Let's not forget Jamie's non-alcoholic Raspberry Mojitos last year.  We made these as a family after we saw this picture and mmmmm, they were delicious!

Make your own Ice Cream (in a baggie!!)
And of course, if you haven't seen Jamie's post the other day, check out this fun idea!  My boys are going to get a huge thrill making their very own ice cream!


Recipes from around the Blog-o-sphere

I have been looking around the web for other nummy yummy summer treats and I have a couple that I want to try, like these Roasted Strawberry and Toasted Coconut Popsicles from Joy the Baker--really, I can't find the words to describe how this picture makes me feel.

I am intrigued by the title of this baby: Peanut Butter Blueberry Green Smoothie.  Full of veggies folks!  I've tried delicious green smoothies and some less than desirable, but I do love drinking my vegetables.  This sounds like one even my husby and kidlets could get behind!

 As a bonus, the Diva Dish's post is a two'fer--I can't wait to try this Chocolate Covered Berry Green Smoothie!  If you're wanting to eat healthier this summer, that Diva's got lots of ideas!

Well, I could go on and on, but I've been trapped in the "Pinterest gathering" stage before--you've got to stop sometime and give these things a try, or your Pins won't do any good, am I right?  Off to blend, toast, and roast.

But don't forget to leave me links to YOUR favorites, pretty please!  Summer's just begun, and I could use some delicious indulgence masquerading as "playtime with the kids" every day!

Click HERE for more fun summer ideas!

Ice Cream in a Bag

Did you know that there's a National Ice Cream Day? It's true! It's always the third Sunday in July. Even though my husband has had to give up dairy (also known as "giving up heaven" at our house.) we still celebrate this glorious day every single year! This year I'm thinking of shaking things up a bit. Like literally ShAkInG tHiNgS uP by making ice cream in a bag!

Please ignore the shaggy hair. We have been playing hard!

In each small ziplock bag you'll need:

1 TBLSP Sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 milk, cream or half and half 

(We used cream cause if you're gonna do something, you might as well do it right! Right?!)

In each large ziplock you'll need:

Enough ice to fill the gallon sized bag half way

6 TBSP salt- we used rock salt 

Zip up your pint sized bag and place it inside the larger one... then shake shake shake! We actually turned on some peppy tunes and had a dance party to encourage vigorous shaking. :) It was a blast! You'll be able to tell when your ice cream is done. Ours took about 5 minutes.

What a fun way to entertain the kids AND enjoy a deliciously frozen treat all at the same time! 

Some advice- make sure your small ziplock back is sturdy, or you can even double bag it. If any of the rock salt gets into your ice cream your kids will cry, and they won't believe you when you try to convince them that it's still good it's just sweet AND salty, like when we dip french fries in our frosty at Wendy's, and then they'll cry some more...and then you will cry... and that totally defeats the point. So just save yourself a headache and double bag your ice cream 'kay? 

There are so many flavor options you could do! This time around we just made a nice clean, albeit slightly salty, Vanilla flavor. Next time I think we'll throw some berries in it, and maybe even some chocolate or carmel. Or OREOS! Oh heavens. I am going to need to make this again before National Ice Cream Day... you know... just to practice.  

After all, in a perfect world every day would be National Ice Cream Day. Am I right? 

Click HERE for more fun summer ideas!