Arctic Sensory Bin for Indoor Winter Sensory Play

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The calendar might say it's Winter, but Mother Nature is a bit confused! Our weather has been all over the place lately. Last Monday, it was 65 degrees and sunny, and on Friday, we woke up to 4 inches of snow. Just two days later, all the snow has melted, and it's raining and in the high 40's. No matter the weather, we decided to make the Arctic our theme for this month's sensory bins!

I'm sure you already know this, but we are big fans of sensory play here! So much that we actually have a sensory table in our living room, and allow the kids to engage in messy play. Play is such an important part of early learning, and there are so many benefits of sensory play. I would rather have my kids explore a sensory bin than sit in front of the TV or iPad!

This month, we have been talking about the Arctic and the animals that live there. Even when my kids are in school, I believe in learning within the home as well. In addition to creating an Arctic world for my kids to explore, we read books about Arctic animals (National Geographic Kids has some great options), and there are some fun documentaries on Netflix and Disney+ to help kids learn more about the Arctic!

How To Soothe & Heal Dry, Itchy, Cracked, Winter Hands

Winter is upon us, and with it comes some pesky problems! So many people struggle with dry skin during the winter, but I was never one of them until just a few years ago. From the time the weather cools down until the time Spring arrives, I have to deal with dry, itchy, cracked hands.

I'm not quite sure what changed, and why it started recently. I don't have dry skin anywhere else on my body. I'm sure it's a combination of dry indoor heating, direct heat from car vents, and exposure to the cold, which is something I can't really change. I take a multivitamin, and we use a humidifier in our home. The dryness just lasts for a few months, and then goes away completely, but while it's here, it's really painful!

After dealing with this condition for several winters, and trying dozens of products, I finally learned a few tricks and found the best products to minimize the discomfort. I can usually keep my hands from getting too dry, keep the itchiness away, and keep the cracked fingertips down to one finger at a time. (Sure, it would be better if it was gone completely, but I'll take it over having painful cracks on every fingertip like I used to!) Here's how I deal with dry, itchy, winter hands...

Life Lately - Countdown to Baby!

Hello, my friends! This space has been very neglected over the past two and a half weeks. I'm currently almost 37 weeks pregnant, and we have been in full Prepare For Baby mode lately! My focus is on organizing all the things, getting the house ready for a newborn, and dealing with the usual busyness of life right now!

I feel so much guilt over neglecting all the posts I had planned, but I'm working hard on giving myself grace. This pregnancy was a big surprise, and it has been very difficult for me. I am so ready for it to be over, and for this baby boy to finally be in our arms! I'm ready for my body AND my life to get back to normal, even if that new normal is going to be even busier!

Here's what we have been up to over the past few weeks while counting down to our baby's arrival...

The Best Winter Books for Kids

Like much of the country, we were hit with REALLY cold temps from the polar vortex! While we didn't get hit as hard as many others, those negative temps don't happen often in Pittsburgh. The -20 windchill shut down our schools, and my kids were so excited to get three days off in a row! We were snuggled up in the warmth of our home for the past few days, so it seemed like the perfect time to share our Winter Book Crate and our picks for the best winter books for kids! 

I'm an avid reader, so I fill our home with books! I think developing a love for reading is incredibly important, and I'm working hard to raise readers. I introduce books to my children when they are infants, read to them every day, encourage their love of reading, and rarely say no when they ask for a book. We support school book fairs, purchase from the Scholastic flyers, visit our library regularly, and have books in every room in our home.

I shared our seasonal/holiday book crate on the blog before, and it's a beloved staple in our living room! I rotate the books every season and every holiday, and my kids love reading the books that fill it. Once the Christmas books were packed away, the book crate got filled with their Winter favorites! (In our opinion), here are the BEST Winter books for kids...

Big Family Life Lately

Happy Monday! Another January week flew by in our usual whirlwind of chaos and busyness. It's hard to believe we're rapidly approaching the end of the first month of 2019!

We're currently enjoying our second three day weekend in a row. I could REALLY get used to these! I had high hopes to post more to the blog this week, but four kids, pregnancy, and a cold took up most of my time and energy. I have a drafts folder full of almost finished posts, so I hope to get those posted this week. I also hope to pull out my real camera more often this week, because I only took a few pictures over the past week. I'm beginning to think that the constant busyness of my family just isn't going to change!

Here's a glimpse of life over the past week...

The Chaos Crew's Weekly Recap

Happy Monday! It actually IS a happy Monday, because my kids are off of school today, and my husband is off of work. I would love to say that we're having a relaxing day off, but Dylan has a date with his girlfriend (hold me), and I have a date with the grocery store. BUT...we get to sleep in, and that's a wonderful thing!

The second week of 2019 flew by in a whirlwind of busyness! Germs hit our home this week, too. Stomach cramps hit Lexie on Monday, and Lily on Tuesday. Thankfully, it only lasted a few hours for both of them, and didn't turn into anything else! On Wednesday night, I felt body aches and cold symptoms coming on, and I'm still fighting cold germs. Because I'm pregnant, it's hitting me hard, but it doesn't slow me down one bit! Then again, there's no time to slow down with 4 kids!

Here's a glimpse at our week... 

Life with Littles: February Moments & Memories

I love the month of February! It arrives with the promise of Winter being halfway over, and is usually full of fun events for my family. This February was even more exciting than usual! It began with a fun mini getaway for my family, and ended with a new puppy!

Snapshots of January

It's hard to believe the first month of 2018 is already over! I usually hate the month of January, because it's so blah with the holidays ending, and it's so long and cold. This year, however, I didn't have many complaints! It was actually a happy, fun, cozy month!

The Long Christmas Break

Happy Friday, my friends! The past month has been very busy for me, and I was feeling really overwhelmed. I had so much on my plate that Grant urged me to take a brief blogging break for Christmas, and I agreed. I had only planned on taking a break for a week, but one week turned into two. Although it was the longest blogging break I have ever taken, it was exactly what I needed! 

Christmas didn't turn out as expected, but I will save that post for another day! If you follow me on social media, then you already know that Liam got really sick on Christmas, and ended up in the hospital. But in the spirit of easing back into a regular blogging schedule, I'm just going to recap some of the fun things my family did during my long break.

With four kids in school, there are a lot of activities during the holiday season. I'm not sure why that happens, but it tends to make the already busy time of year even busier! I could barely keep up this year!

Our Winter Family Adventure with Fruit Shoot and Pizza Hut + 10 Questions To Ask Your Kids Today

This time of year is so blah. The holidays are over, the weather is cold, and many families are cooped up indoors with nothing to do. It's easy to understand why so many people dislike the winter months. This is definitely true for my family!

We spend so much time together during the holidays, and in January, it comes to an abrupt end. Everyone is busy with their own activities, and we are rarely together. When we are in the same place at the same time, it's usually because the weather has us trapped indoors.

Sometimes my entire family just needs to escape for a little adventure and reconnect! 

It's easy to fall into the hibernation trap, but it's so important to get out of the house before the winter blues strike! Since our time together is limited, we usually opt to go out to eat. A simple change of scenery can easily improve our mood, and an hour spent reconnecting is often exactly what we need!

My family of six usually heads to our local Pizza Hut. It's family friendly, we all love their pizza, and they have quick service, which is a must for our busy lifestyle. An added bonus is that they serve my kids' favorite drink: Fruit Shoot! 

My kids fell in love with Fruit Shoot the moment they first tasted it! This No High Fructose Corn Syrup/No Artificial Flavors juice drink comes in popular flavors such as Berry Burst, Apple and Strawberry & Raspberry. It is available in both no added sugar and made with real sugar varieties. My kids love the flavors and I love the fact that they are a much healthier option at 100 calories or less per bottle. Fruit Shoot can be hard to find, so my kids are always so excited when they find out we are heading to Pizza Hut!

What makes delicious food and treasured family time even better? The ability to give back while we eat! Until April 30th, 2017,  five cents of every bottle of Fruit Shoot purchased will be donated to the First Book literacy program. Not only do we love to give back, but we also believe in the importance of reading, so my family happily supports this great cause.

We usually purchase additional Fruit Shoot drinks on the way out the door. The sports cap makes it a great choice for kids of all ages, and thanks to the lid, it's the perfect on-the-go option!

When my family goes out to eat together, it's always an adventure! With four kids, there's literally never a dull moment. Even if it's loud and chaotic, we treasure those moments. Taking the time to reconnect during the busyness of everyday life is incredibly important for my family. Sometimes the simple act of going out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants can bring us together and make us forget all about those winter blues!

 

My husband and I believe in making family a priority and we are working hard to pass on those values to our children. We believe in the importance of making each of them feel special and loved every single day, so we make it a point to ask our children the same 10 questions each day.  

1. What made you feel happy today?
2. What made you feel sad today?
3. What made you laugh today?
4. What could you have done better today?
5. Who did you play with today?
6. Who did you sit with at lunch today?
7. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
8. What are you dreading tomorrow?
9.  What was one important lesson you learned today?
10. What was the best moment of the day?

As many parents know, most kids aren't very open about their day, especially if they go to school. The details are often few and far between. Asking these questions each night gives valuable insight into your child's thoughts and feelings and a glimpse into the aspect of their life that you don't get to see!

My family loves to go on adventures together, even if it's just the simple act of going out to eat! Go on your own adventure and support the First Book literacy project by purchasing a Fruit Shoot product at your local Pizza Hut!

Find more information about Fruit Shoot HERE and HERE.
Learn more about the First Book literacy project HERE.

Thank you to Fruit Shoot for sponsoring today's post and inspiring us to step out of winter hibernation to go on a family adventure!

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

Snowmageddon

We are currently in the midst of the coldest, snowiest winter I have ever experienced. Pittsburgh gets snow and cold weather, but it is never this extreme! 

Dylan and Lexie get excited when it snows, but they never last long outside.  I blame their lack of body fat, but really, they are just like me!  I hate being cold!

After it snowed last week, I figured it was time to take some snow pictures for the year.  The kids suited up and headed outdoors.  They had a lot of fun, and I enjoyed watching them play!


















Someday, Liam will join them outdoors, but on this day, he chose to snuggle up and sleep.  I had high hopes of getting a picture of him in the snow, but he didn't want to wake up for one.  I'm sure I'll have more chances for that snow picture!  It feels like winter will never end!