February Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  I hope you've had a good week.  Ours flew by after a long weekend.  We packed in lots of fun and can't believe it'll be March next week.  That will kick off birthday season at our house.  Fletcher turns 7 in March, Leo turns 3 in April and Olive turns 10 in May.  7 + 3 = 10 :)  I'm already working on some fun things for their parties.

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

Teacher Mom: Toddlers - I started a new series showcasing fun learning activities you can do at home!  I'm showcasing some toddler favorites this month.  Come see some cute Easter basket filler ideas that the toddlers in your life might love.

I Need Your Help - I'd love to hear from you!

Now on to my February Favorites:

1 // Aldi Rainbow Rug

I finally found one of these cute Aldi rainbow rugs!  It was only $7.99 and looks perfect for St. Patrick's Day on my front porch.  It's been so warm in the Midwest that I had to take down my snowflake and move on to the next holiday a little early.  I love this lavender wreath from Home Goods.  I can't wait to add planters and pretty pots to my porch, but it's too early to be thinking of that since the weather can and probably will get cold again before Spring arrives.

2 // Farm 57

We tried a new coffee shop with some friends this week.  I loved the bread and Leo loved smiling at all the ladies at tables around ours.

3 // Go Aces!

Kevin took the kids to the last Aces game of the season.  They had a blast going with him this season and all of their fan dreams came true when they caught a t-shirt that was thrown into the crowd and earned free pizzas from Azzip.

4 // Bible Study Buddy

Leo and I had Bible Study this week and it's always a highlight of our week.  We get to chat with friends, learn about Jesus and it's wonderful.

5 // 4th Grade Rocks

Olive has been getting some really cool opportunities at school lately.  Her choir as chosen to sing the national anthem at a basketball game, she's crushing her recorder song goals and they built circuits in class this week.  She's learning a ton and we're so proud of her!

6 // 3 Day Weekend

We visited our favorite park with scooters on Monday.  The weather was great and we found some new trails.  We grabbed their favorite lunch on the way home - Culvers.  Kevin had to work so I was in charge of being the fun parent for the day.

This picture is 100% Fletcher - always inventing and creating the funniest things.  This is his fry straw that he was very proud of.

7 // Cookies

I baked Oatmeal Butterscotch (Leo's favorite) and launched some fun rainbow cookies on my March menu for St. Patrick's Day.

8 // Cousin Birthday Party

One of our littlest cousins turned 2 and the kids had a blast at his Lightning McQueen party.  Leo is our only cake loving kid.  I need to take a video of his reaction to a plate of cake.

9 // Zoo Day

We took the kids to the zoo over their long weekend.  We check out a new area - Amazonia - and it was AMAZING.  We finally found the Axolotl creature that Olive loves.  She thinks they're so cute.  The otters were busy and so much fun to watch.  It was a great day to be at the zoo.  We love going in the Fall and Winter.

10 // Olive was thrilled Penny picked her as her favorite snuggle person.  She said she couldn't move until Penny moved.

11 // If you need Fletcher, he's probably out metal detecting in our yard.  He's found the craziest "treasures" and now needs to learn the art of refilling all the holes he's been digging since Christmas.

12 // Leo's favorite spot is always in the middle of whatever is going on.  He was eager to help Fletch make muffins.  We couldn't quit laughing about his determination to get in on the action.

I hope you have the best weekend!  I will see you back here on Monday.

Linking up with Momfessionals

I Need Your Help

Hey Friends!

It's been gorgeous in the Midwest this week.  Is there anything better than sunny skies and jean jacket wearing temperatures!?  I'm sitting on my patio doing some blog work and I need your help today. 

 

I've been working on my 2023 blog calendar and I'm curious - What do want to read on my blog?  What types of post get you excited to click on and read?

Do you have any topics or questions or projects you want me to cover?  I'd love to have your input.  Comment on this post with your post ideas. Or comment and tell me your favorite type of blog posts.  I will do my best to add them to my schedule this year.

I'm eager to hear from my favorite blog friends - those who comment often as well as those who rarely comment.  Thanks for being here.  And thanks so much for your help!

Teacher Mom: Toddlers

Hey Friends!  I hope you had a nice weekend.  We had a good weekend here.  I've got a fun new series to start with you today - Teacher Mom.  I'm going to be sharing homework tips, toddler learning tips as well as fun learning activities that you can do at home with your kids, your friends or even your grand kids.

I hope to encourage you that learning at home can be fun and that you don't have to rush your kids into preschool unless you really want or need them to be there.  We typically wait to send kids to preschool until PreK at age 4 (even though there is lots of pressure out there to start formal preschool ASAP).  We enjoy lots of fun learning opportunities at home and in our community.  You can definitely do the same if you aren't interested in starting formal school with them just yet.

I've got 3 favorite toddler learning activities to do with little ones today.  I'll link as much as I can with Amazon affiliate links below each activity description.  Thanks for supporting PDP!

Teacher Mom: Toddlers

1 // Flash Card Fun

All of my kids have loved looking through flash cards.  It's always been a fun naming game for us and never anything strict or stressful.  The big kids love this Guess in 10 animal clue game and Leo uses the cards to learn animal names.  He initiated it and gets it out often.  

All of my kids have loved these Touch and Feel Flashcards.  We have every set they make.  They're on sturdy cards and the kids love feeling the textured spot on each flash card.  They last for years or for multiple children.   We have used and loved our sets since Olive was a toddler 7+ years ago.

These would be the perfect addition to your child's Easter basket, too!

 

2 // Play-Doh Playtime

Leo loves to play with Play-Doh.  Now that he's almost 3 I can trust him to play and not eat the Play-Doh.  He loves to roll out snakes, chop with butter knives, match Play-Doh balls with the right lid colors and create.  He also enjoys driving cars through the Play-Doh or stamping dinosaur foot prints in it.  Can you see the flag that he made and was so proud of?  This is such a good fine motor activity.  It builds those little hand muscles so well.  Especially since he wants zero help opening the containers and removing the Play-Doh.  He isn't really into the tools yet.  He just loves using plastic knives or butter knives to chop.

I buy this big set of Play-Doh regularly and all the kids enjoy creating with it.  DO NOT BUY the Play-Doh Easter eggs.  They are so difficult to open since each egg is completely sealed shut and the Play-Doh is much more like clay than Play-Doh.  My kids hated them and I hated that I wasted money on them.

 

3 // Kinetic Sand

This is a little messier than Play-Doh, but it is so fun to hide little treasures in.  Leo will hide, find, rehide and squish this stuff for hours.  I make sure he sits at a place that is easy to sweep up and then give him an assortment of tiny dinosaurs, gems and such to find.  He uses a butter knife here, too.  You can use plastic spoons and knives, but they always seem to snap easily for us.

My big kids and toddler are obsessed with these tiny treasure boxes of Kinetic Sand.  They come with a shovel to dig and several tiny gems to find.  They're gems the size of the kid's fingernails (not the tiny pink dots pictured here) and all the kids enjoy them.

 

4 // Walk and Talk

Leo and I love to go on a walk and talk about everything we see.  That's getting easier now that the weather is getting a little nicer and there is more sunlight.  It is a really great free learning opportunity.

We name letters on signs.

Name numbers on houses.

Name car colors.

Wave hello and chat with neighbors.

Watch construction equipment work.

Stop and look at bugs and critters.

Collect sticks.

Talk about the planes that fly over, the clouds in the sky and the birds we see.

We practice directions - Do you want to go straight or right?

We practice the names of our neighbors.

We name nature things like pine cones, hawks, bunnies and farm equipment.

Enjoy your busy toddlers!!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope you've had a good, love filled week.  It was a good one here.  

Did you catch my blog posts this week?

Little Love Yous - this was so. much. fun.

Happy Valentine's Day Treat Tray - my kids loved this treat!

Coffee Chat - come chat - I need your help.

Now on to my favorite moments of the week:

1 // Happy Valentine's Day.  We had a fun holiday week.  The kids got their favorites - candy and Squishmallows.  They wore festive outfits and I made holiday treats for them.

2 // Heart Pizza

We started getting heart shaped pizza's on Valentine's Day long before we were parents.  It's been fun to carry on this tradition with the kids.  It works for poor grad students and families with kids.  We did fancy drinks, place cards and a festive table.  I loved it and the kids appreciated the extra fancy table.  Penny loved the fancy table and made herself the centerpiece after dinner.

3 // Valentine's Day at School

Fletcher picked out the perfect pinata for his valentine box and came home with cute valentine's from his first grade buddies.

His valentines - fish ring toss games and fun dips were so cute!  He wrote his name on all of his valentines so fast this year.  He's really growing up!

4 // Valentine Play Date

We had friends over for a valentine get together.  It was fun for everyone!

5 // Jordan Bakery Box - it was a busy baking week here!  Holiday cookies are my favorite.  I did loads of cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels and school spirit cookies.  Yum!  I set a goal for myself for the month of February and I've already hit it.  Yay!

6 // Early Morning Valentines

The kids woke up early on Valentine's Day and were really excited to get a few little surprises.  If your kids love Squishmallows, you'll have to get them some collectors cards.  They are so cute.  My kids love collecting and trading them. Here's my affiliate link:

 

7 // Cutest sidekick.  Spending my days with him is my favorite.

8 // School valentines.  Olive's class did a neat project for Valentine's Day.  She enjoyed it, but totally missed the class parties of her younger years.

9 // When your valentine knows your favorite colors and ignores all the pink and red.  This bouquet has looked so pretty on my counter all week.

10 // When you're the baby and you say COZY - people jump to make you cozy.  Olive and Fletcher love taking care of him.

11 // Crafty girl.  Olive adores these tiny polka-dot mushrooms.  She got creative this week and decided to make her own dangly earrings.  She was so proud to debut them at school this week.  It was my favorite thing to see her create something unique that she loved.

12 // You know my love for rainbows... this week has been extra sunny which meant lots of rainbow reflections throughout the house.  I don't know exactly what makes them, but we LOVE spotting them and being reminded of God's promises.

13 // Leo got to hang out with Mimi & Papaw this week which is his favorite.

14 // We hosted an impromptu Super Bowl party.  I made all of our favorite game day food and the weather was nice enough to make some s'mores.

15 // Get outside!  We played outside a lot this week.  Leo rides in circles and yells I'M FAST.  Then we went on a walk right after it rained and found the craziest crawdad strolling down the road.  Leo LOVED it.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  My crew has a long 3 day weekend (hooray!!) and I'll see you back here on Tuesday.

Linking up with Momfessionals

Coffee Chat

Hey friends!  I wish we could meet for coffee in real life this morning.  I've got lots to talk about.  I would have Leo with me since we are always together, I would order a mocha iced coffee and probably a muffin for Leo and these are all the things I'd want to chat with you about.

1 // I'm on the hunt for a pair of black drum lampshades to update a favorite set of lamps that were a wedding gift.  But the shades I'm finding online are all $70+ online.  Where can I get a great deal on a pair of lampshades?

2 // What's your favorite way to resell items that you no longer want or that your kids have outgrown?  I'm seriously missing a local market page that my old mom's group ran and am really trying hard to avoid having a garage sale.  Have you ever posted things for sale to just your friends on Facebook?  I'd love to avoid the public Facebook market page and meet ups with strangers.

3 // My favorite holiday is coming up - St Patrick's Day!  I can't wait to show you some of the darling rainbow things I've found.

4 // My workout wardrobe needs a refresh.  My favorite pieces are feeling tired.  What's your favorite brand of workout clothes?  Some of my current faves came from Sams so I am hoping to pop in there later this week to see what they have.

5 // Do you own a carpet or upholstery cleaning machine?  I've seen some friends online recommend one that's around $100 and I'm thinking of investing in one.  It's intimidating to move into a brand new house with brand new flooring and I want to keep them all looking fresh.

6 // What are you reading right now?  I'm reading Mama Bear Apologetics and The Secret Zoo to see if it would be a good read aloud for the big kids.

7 // What time do you go to bed each night?  I've been asleep by midnight most nights and I'm super proud of myself.

8 // Olive and I are on the hunt for a new hair stylist.  She'd like a professional cut and so would I.  I'm also interested in some color at some point.  Any Evansville friends have any hair connections?  Or do you have any great tips for finding someone that you love in a new city?  I have had my share of bad haircuts from just showing up at places expecting a quality cut and I think I'm scarred for life.  Haha.  Remember that time I went in to get a trim when my hair was down to my elbows and ended up with a chin length bob!?  I also got a mullet one time.  Maybe that's why I keep having Kevin trim my hair all these years later.

 

Thanks for listening, friends.  I hope you have a great day.  What's on your mind this morning?  I'd love to chat with you in the comments.

Happy Valentine's Day Treat Tray

 Happy Valentine's Day!

I have a confession - I did not put out a single valentine decoration this year.  I just kept putting it off and now the big day is here.  I felt bad for a minute and then I realized that no one cared.  We baked valentine treats and ate festive food.  That's enough for me.

I surprised my crew with a valentine themed treat tray after school yesterday!  They loved it!  I used all the red and white things we had on hand and then added in some favorite treats.  You could easily customize this for your kids or friends.  I like to use muffin trays for snacks like this.  This heart tray is perfect (thanks, Mom), but I would have used a mini muffin tin if I didn't have this.

Treat tray menu: I did Nutella and cookie dough in the top cups for dipping.  Then cut up cheeses, strawberries, rice krispy treats, Nutragrain bars to bite size snack options.  Add in some heart picks and a few more treats.

The kids opened a little something this morning, had valentines to open from family, have fun Valentine's Day plans in their classrooms and then we'll finish the day with a heart shaped pizza and looking through all of their valentines.

Thanks for being here today and always.  I love that you're here and that you enjoy my blog!  I hope you have a wonderful day with the people that you love.