Welcome Wednesday Link Party

Happy 4th of July! I will be spending the day celebrating with my family and friends, and will be getting back to the blog later this week. I decided to take a break from blogging yesterday, today, and maybe even tomorrow, but I will be posting the link up for those who would like to share their posts. Wishing my fellow Americans a happy, safe, fun holiday!

Your Hosts! 

Whitney at Polka-Dotty Place / Bloglovin / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter 

Stefanie at Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest / Facebook

Keri at Keri Lynn Synder / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest 

Mauri at The American Patriette /  Facebook /  Pinterest / Instagram

Sarah at Sarah E. Frazer / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest 

Lindsay at Lindsay's Sweet World /  Bloglovin / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter

An InLinkz Link-up

INTRODUCING: Welcome Wednesday Link Party!!! (+ Life Lately)

Happy Wednesday, my friends! I hope 2018 is off to a great start for you.  I know many of you are missing the Tuesday Talk link party that ended late last year, so a few of the Tuesday Talk bloggers joined together to bring you Welcome Wednesday!

Mom Life Must Haves: Things I'm Currently Loving

DISCLOSURE: A few of the featured items were sent to me free for review. I only share the things I truly love!

Happy Thursday, my friends! I can't believe we are over halfway through October, and that Halloween is less than 2 weeks away. This year flew by faster than ever before! It has been a few weeks since I last shared the things that I'm currently loving, so I figured I would put together a Mom Life Must Have list!

Life with four kids is non-stop, and I feel like we completely missed out on Fall fun due to our busyness and, well, the lack of Fall weather. Other than a few chilly mornings, it still doesn't feel much like Fall here. We've even had a few 90 degree days this month, which is unheard of for Pittsburgh this time of year. It feels more like late Spring than Fall. Most of the leaves fell off the trees weeks ago, due to lack of rain, so one of my favorite things about Fall never really happened. If you can't tell, I'm kind of bummed about this!

As every mom knows, motherhood isn't always cupcakes and rainbows. Sometimes it's just plain tough! Sometimes you just need to escape or spoil yourself with something that helps you feel like a normal human being again. (I've been there...often.) And sometimes, you just need something to keep your little ones busy so you can breathe! I put together a fun list of the things that help make mom life just a bit easier! And if you're NOT a mom, there are still a few things on here that you might like. Clothes and books, anyone?

First Day Of School Memories & Moments Link Party

The time has arrived! You might be dreading the moment or you might be counting down the days, but either way, it's time to send the kids back to school. The first day of school is always exciting, and it's so much fun to document those memories! 

I teamed up with a few other awesome mom bloggers to host a fun back to school link party! Link up all of your back to school posts with us by September 10th, and if you share on social media, use the hashtag #2017B2S. We hope you will join us in sharing all of those first day of school moments! (Link your posts on the widget below!)

My kids go back to school two weeks from today, and one of those weeks will be spent in Virginia Beach. We are all fiercely Team Summer, and we are not looking forward to the start of the school year, but that first day is rapidly approaching!

This year, Liam will be in Pre-K, Lily will be heading to 1st grade (and will be in school ALL day), Lexie is moving up to another building for 5th grade, and Dylan is going to middle school. For the first time in almost 13 years, I will have 2 1/2 hours to myself 3 days a week. (Hello, cramming in work.)

When Dylan was a baby, the first day of school seemed so far away. Somehow, I blinked, and 12 1/2 years are behind us. My "baby" is going into 7th grade. This is the year when everything changes!

Our first day isn't here just yet, and you better believe we're going to be enjoying the two weeks of Summer, but soon, I'll be sending all four of my kiddos off to school. While this year's first day of school moments are going to have to wait, here's a glimpse at some past first days of school!

2016

Dylan - 6th Grade, Lexie - 4th Grade, Lily - Kindergarten, Liam -Preschool

2015

Dylan - 5th Grade, Lexie - 3rd Grade, Lily - PreK

2014

Dylan - 4th Grade and Lexie - 2nd Grade

2013

Dylan - 3rd Grade and Lexie - 1st Grade

And that's as far back as I'm going! Photobucket ruined third party hosting, and I have 5 years of blog posts to fix. I can't reference my old posts for pictures, and I'm not hooking up my external hard drive to find 4 pictures! (Darn you, Photobucket. NOT cool.)

Dylan, Lexie, Lily and Liam's first days of school are so near! I will be recapping all the special moments and linking them up here. Now go link up your first day of school posts and recaps! We can't wait to read them!

An InLinkz Link-up

Rubber Ducks Sensory Bins & Sensory Play {A Year Of Color - Yellow}

My kids love sensory play! I introduced each of them to the concept when they were babies and it quickly became something they did every day. I'm a firm believer in letting kids explore and get messy!

It's amazing how even the simplest items can seem so much more exciting when they are thrown into a sensory bin! I rotate our bins weekly and most of them never even make it onto the blog, but I'm going to try to share them more often. They are a lot of fun, and they inspire kids to think, create and explore while building their fine motor skills!

On the third Friday of each month,  I co-host a monthly linkup called A Year of Color with Little Dove, Macke Monologues, and Work It Mommy. Each month focuses on one color and you can link up any post that revolves around that particular color: Fashion, Recipes, Activities for Kids, Crafts...ANYTHING is welcome! The link will be open for a month, so you can link up any time. We hope you will join us!

When I saw this month's theme for the A Year Of Color link party, I immediately knew what I was going to share: Our Rubber Ducks Sensory Bins and Rubber Ducks Play Dough Kit! It was the perfect choice for:

Rubber Ducks Sensory Bins

This classic bath toy is the focus of these sensory bins, but I add lots of different fillers to keep things interesting! Here are Liam, Lexie and Lily's three favorites:

RUBBER DUCKS POND SENSORY BIN:

Creating a Rubber Duck Pond using inexpensive items is so much fun!

For this sensory bin, you will need:

• 6-12 rubber ducks
• Fake flowers (bunches of 6 are $1 at Walmart)
• Small aquarium plants
• Blue gems
• Natural rocks
• Pieces of wood (we used mulch)
• Foam lilypads cut out of sheets of green craft foam (we pay 33 cents/sheet)

Note: I highly recommend swimsuits for this activity, especially if the sensory bin that is being used is a baby pool!

RUBBER DUCKS & SHAVING CREAM SENSORY BIN:

What is it about shaving cream that makes any activity seem so much more fun?!? All you need for this simple sensory bin is rubber ducks and 2-3 cans of inexpensive shaving cream (a must have sensory bin filler)!

Let the kids squirt the shaving cream into the sensory bin, then toss in the ducks and back away before they dig in! (Trust me!!!)

FYI: Bathtime after this activity is almost always a necessity! Or, if it's warm enough, just have them run through the sprinkler!

RUBBER DUCKS & COTTON BALL BUBBLES SENSORY BIN:

Adding this simple, everyday item to a sensory bin can turn into hours of fun!

All you need is 2-4 bags of cotton balls for your sensory bin, depending on its size, and 6-12 rubber ducks. Grab some tongs, bowls, cups and spoons to transfer, scoop and pour!

We have also used these fun fillers for our rubber ducks sensory bins:

• blue aqua beads
• mini marshmallows
• rice dyed blue
• blue Easter grass
• bubble bath mixed into warm water

Try switching up the sensory play area, too! Here are a few things my kids loved:

• "Rubber Duck Pond" in a baby pool
• Rubber Duck races in rain gutter "rivers" (very inexpensive at hardware stores)
• Rubber Duck Sensory Play in the water table (same as in the bin)
• Rubber Duck Sensory Bath using bubble bath and foam flower and grass wall decals (in addition to the Duck Pond Sensory Bin items)

Rubber Ducks Play Dough Kit

This play dough kit is a huge hit with my girls! They love play dough, so when I give them a Play Dough Kit, they will play for hours. Just like the sensory bins, I usually keep each play dough kit out for a week, then switch it for something else.

For this Play Dough Kit you will need:

• Sectioned plate or tray
• Blue play dough
• Fake flowers (bunches of 6 are $1 at Walmart)
• Small aquarium plants
• Blue gems
• Natural rocks
• Pieces of wood (we used mulch)
• Small rubber ducks

Encourage your kids to use their imagination to create play dough duck ponds or decorate the ducks with play dough!

Sensory Play is a hit with kids of all ages! When the kids are done playing, store each filler and sensory bin item in separate ziploc bags and place them inside the sensory bin for easy storage until next time. Let them be little, let them play and let them get messy!

Link up your "YELLOW" post with us for A Year of Color!

Plan ahead for next month!

June 16th

An InLinkz Link-up

A Year of Color: White {BAKE / PLAY / CRAFT}

Welcome to the first monthly edition of A Year of Color!

On the third Friday of each month,  I will be co-hosting a monthly linkup called A Year of Color with Little Dove, Macke Monologues, and Work It Mommy. Each month will focus on one color and you can link up any post that revolves around that particular color.  Fashion, Recipes, Activities for Kids, Crafts...ANYTHING is welcome! The link will be open for a month, so you can link up any time. We hope you will join us!

The color for the month of January is: 

I had so many ideas go through my head for this month, but I decided to focus on a winter theme. I'm going to share a cute cupcake recipe, an easy and inexpensive winter craft, and a sensory play activity for kids. It's unusually warm in Pittsburgh this month, so we are finding other ways to enjoy winter!

Polar Bear Cupcakes

My mom is a baker so she is the one who always gets to wow my kids with her cute baked goods. My creations are seriously lacking compared to hers, but I was able to impress my kids with this one! (For now. My mom has plans to make polar bear cupcakes with Lily this weekend. I'm sure hers will put mine to shame!)

When it comes to baking, I am all about easy. I don't have the time or the energy for complex recipes. This recipe is really simple and each cupcake only takes about 2 minutes to assemble.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of white cake mix
• White Frosting
• White Cupcake Liners
• Black Writing Gel
• Brown M&M's
• Cereal Rings (Fruit Loops, Cheerios)

 

Directions: 

1. Make the cupcakes according to the directions on the box and allow to cool. 

2. Cover the top of each cupcake with white frosting. Don't worry about making it smooth. Texture is good! 

3. Place a cereal ring (I used fruit loops) in the middle of each cupcake to form a nose and two at the top of the cupcake to form ears. 

4. Carefully cover the cereal rings with white frosting.

5. Place a brown M&M in the middle of the nose.

6. Use the black writing gel to make two tiny dots above the nose for the eyes. 

So easy! 

These cupcakes turned out really cute and went VERY quickly!

My girls actually squealed when they spotted these cupcakes, which made this not so accomplished baker very happy!

 

Two Ingredient Sensory Play Snow 

Sensory Play is very important in our home, and sensory snow is one of the easiest sensory play recipes to make! It can be whipped up in less than a minute. And when you can't experience the real stuff, this is a lot of fun. It's even cold!

Ingredients:

• Baking Soda
• Shaving Cream

Directions:

1. Pour a 1 lb box of Baking Soda into a large bowl. (If you're feeling extra adventurous, quadruple the batch and pour it into an under the bed storage container!) 
2. Squirt shaving cream into the bowl and mix the two ingredients together. Continue adding small amounts of shaving cream until you get the desired consistency. The "snow" should be crumbly but stick together when molded.

Not only is Sensory Play Snow quick and easy to make, but the ingredients are inexpensive and you can control the amount.  Kids can play with a small batch and mold it into shapes, or they can use shovels and other sand toys in a bigger batch. This is one of my kids favorite sensory play recipes!

 

Winter Snowball Banner

This easy craft is perfect for kids ages 5 and up (under supervision), is very inexpensive, and is a great addition to your winter home decor!

Items Needed: 

• Cotton Balls
• White Thread
• Needle

Directions:

1. Decide where you want to hang the banner and measure the length needed. Add 2 extra feet to allow for draping and tying.

2. Tie one end of the thread to the head of the needle. Tie the other end of the thread into a triple knot.

3. Thread the needle through the middle of a cotton ball, then use your fingers to push it gently to the other end. Tie the end of the string around the cotton ball. This will be the end piece.

4. Continue threading the needle through cotton balls and pushing them to the end of the thread until you have the desired amount.

5. Cut the thread and tie it around the cotton ball at the opposite end of where you started. Trim the ends of the thread on both sides.

6. Use your fingers to space out the cotton balls evenly.

7. Hang out of reach of toddlers and young children. Trust me on this one. This is a delicate banner and my toddler tornado took the cotton balls off the first one we made in approximately 30 seconds!

This craft is a lot of fun and all the threading helps strengthen those fine motor skills that are so important for so many tasks.

The snowball banner is quick, cheap and easy to make and it looks so cute hanging up!

It may not be white outside right now, but we had so much fun with these winter-themed activities!

Please join us for A Year of Color next month on February 17th!  February's color of the month will be:

Link up your color white themed posts with us all month long! XOXO

An InLinkz Link-up