Ramona Toothpaste Activity

It's been cold...reeeeeeally cold.

I'm one of those people who actually likes winter, and even I think it's cold.

It was so cold I didn't want to take the girls out on Monday to go grocery shopping which is totally a Monday activity in my life.

I ran out to pick up a few things on Sunday and swung by the dollar store to get what I needed for a fun activity on Monday.

We started out the morning by watching Ramona and Beezus.  It's actually the first movie that Leah saw in the movie theater.  I genuinely like it, too!

After the movie, we got out our Ramona and Her Mother book and read the chapter (chapter 2 or 3, I can't remember!) where Ramona is mad and to release some anger, she squeezes out an entire tube of toothpaste into the sink.  

Who doesn't want to squeeze out an entire tube of toothpaste?

I'll let you guess what I picked up at the dollar store :)

I grabbed 1 tube of toothpaste for each girl. 

I chose to get a dark colored tablecloth so that there would be a lot of contrast between the tablecloth and the white toothpaste.  

I also dug into our closet and got some "tools."

Obviously sponge brushes and Qtips aren't actually tools, but they sure are fun to use on toothpaste!

I made sure to tape the tablecloth to the table so it wouldn't slide around and make a mess.

I had the girls push up their sleeves, pull back their hair, and dive right in!

They did lots of different things with the toothpaste!

There were some hand prints

and drawing and writing!

They had a lot of fun! 

Doesn't Maggie just adorably ooze happiness and excitement!?!

They sure left their mark!

I'd say this kept them busy for a good 45 minutes.  

I liked that I could just un-tape the tablecloth and throw the mess away...easy peasy!

You might be wondering what I would do differently the next time we play with toothpaste...

I'd get an extra tube of toothpaste so I could do it, too!  

I mean, seriously, doesn't that look like so much fun?!

It's Fort Time

Oh, friends, it's been a week...a good week!  But, a busy week nonetheless.  

I didn't post yesterday because doing so would have stressed me out.  

And I don't want blogging to stress me out!

So, I'm back...the world can go on turning ;)

Anyway, here's an activity that isn't rocket science.  

Is rocket science even fun?

Maybe it is...to rocket scientists, but I'm not that smart.

I feel like making forts is so obvious that it almost doesn't even count as an activity idea.

But, here's the thing.  Sometimes I get all perfectionist-y with stuff like this.

I think that the fort has to have like different rooms, 

a heating and cooling system, 

indoor plumbing, 

and a pantry.

When all you really need is a couple of chairs and a blanket/quilt.

A little room service never hurt, either!

Have a great weekend!

Do Something a Little Different

It's been hotter than sin around these parts lately.  

I mean, hot hot hot.  

So hot that I actually went down the water slide at the pool last night.

3 times.

Anyway, we didn't go outside yesterday, because it was stifling.  It was kind of like a rainy day, but without the rain, you know?!

Moving on...

We have a "little kitchen" in our kitchen.

It is usually piled high with clutter.  Aaron cleaned much of it off the other night.

The girls always want to move the little kitchen so they can use the window as a drive thru.  Usually I panic at the thought of all of the stuff falling off the top.  So, with the top being easy to clear off, I, well, cleared it off!

I pushed the kitchen table up against the wall and moved the little kitchen into the middle of the kitchen so the girls could use both sides. 

They loved it!

Plus, I brought a big outside toy into the living room!  

The little store usually stays in the garage.  We'll probably put it in the basement when the weather gets cold and we reclaim the garage for the minivan instead of having it full of bikes and summer-y things.

The girls had quite the little set up going with a store and a restaurant. 

I got to be the customer a lot which was very fun.  The girls are really cute when they act all professional :)

The one downside is that this is what the kitchen looked like when Aaron came home for lunch!

You can't tell very well in the above picture, but the girls each have a bed set up in the kitchen, too.

This one is Gracie's.

It actually looks quite cozy there with the dolls and stuffed animals and...drum?

So, yeah, the kitchen was pretty much out of control.

Aaron loved seeing how much fun we were having and suggested that we have a lunch picnic in the living room.

We were happy to comply!

Every now and then it's a good idea to mix things up a bit!

I'm sure glad that we did!

"Don't Eat the Pretty Flowers!"

Please welcome one of my favorite little games!

I got the idea for this game from The Happy Home Fairy.  Julie has lots of fun ideas to make your home and family, well, more fun!

She originally did the game as a Thanksgiving activity.  We gave it a try and loved it!  We have since done a Valentine's Day version and now a summer version.

It is seriously so easy.  All you need is paper, markers, and small treats like Skittles or M&Ms.  If you're feeling healthy, you could even use raisins or Cheerios.  

Draw a 4x4 grid on a piece of paper.  Now you have 16 squares.  Draw a flower or an umbrella or a beach ball or a                                  .  Pretty much anything you can draw.

I had Leah draw our game.

It would be good to have each flower look different.

Put a little treat in each box.  We used Skittles.

The person who is "it" covers their eyes or goes into another room.

While she is gone, the people who remain choose 1 square.

The person who is "it" comes back and starts slowly eating the candy, one square at a time.

As soon as she reaches to eat the candy from the predetermined square, the rest of the group yells, "Don't eat the pretty flower!"

And that's it.

I know it sounds so easy that you wonder how it could even be fun.

3 things add to the fun factor:

• The suspense of not knowing whether or not you'll choose the candy from the predetermined square.
• Sanctioned yelling.  This is a big deal.  Your kids can yell and it's expected and encouraged.
• Candy.  (duh)

It's so easy that even your teddy bear can play.

It's even better playing with your grandparents and cousin! 

Multi-generational fun for the win!

Give this game a try!

I guarantee that you can't help but have fun :)

Don't forget to enter to win the world's best Scripture print!

Have a happy day!

Sometimes It Rains...

Our weather in the mighty midwest hasn't been overly summery...and I am certainly not complaining.  Last summer was a beast, so I feel like it was time for a mild summer.

And by "mild," I mean down right autumnal at times.

There's also been a decent amount of rain.

Rain means rainy days.

Rainy days mean bored children.

Bored children lead to fighting children.

Fighting children lead to crying.

And, you'd think I'd be used to crying, but I'm not.

I feel that as a service to moms who want less crying, I'd share one rainy day activity with you a week.

Not all rainy day activities are wildly creative, but more like reminders of activities we already have in our arsenal!

Writing a letter is certainly not a new idea, but it might be a forgotten one!

I love a good email, an encouraging text, a witty facebook status, but nothing beats the beauty and sentiment of a hand written letter or note.

Now that swimming lessons are over (praise-a-lujah!), we will be writing letters to one person a week.

Sharing some sunshine even if the day is rainy!

I gathered together our writing supplies:

I picked up the note cards at Walmart.  They are heavy and the thin sharpie didn't bleed through to the other side.  Always a plus!

We picked out 2 cards for our lucky recipients.

In the interest of full disclosure, we were writing birthday cards for my niece and nephew.  

Alyssa's birthday was in (ahem) November and Kyle's was in January.  

I like to claim the old saying of "better late than never" in that department!

I didn't want to micromanage the girls, so I pretty much just let them go!

I love love double love writing with a skinny sharpie!

I like how Maggie is deeply considering which marker to use :)

Gracie is clearly very, very focused :)

I feel like the finished products are very cheerful!

This note is going out next week!  

So, the next time it rains, take the opportunity to teach your kids the lost art of writing a letter...and send someone a little bit of love <3

If you didn't see Monday's post, be sure to hop over and sign up for the Happy Days (by Hannah) giveaway!

You know you want to win these!

Hope your day is happy!