The Letter V

Violets in a Vase and Vegetables.

I had the kids draw flowers in a "vase" and then glue my cut out Vegetables over a giant V. Then we read Family Vacation.

Then we pretended to drive in a Van...we even sang "The Wheels on the Van"

Our Favorite Toddler/Preshooler Toys

Now, mind you, I have all girls...

Dolls: preferably with plastic hair and no accessories to lose.

Shape blocks. Great for toddlers, and when they get older, they use the box to cart all sorts of stuff around!

I got these stacking blocks for my daughter when she was 18 months old and she loved them instantly.  2.5 years later, she still LOVES them. My girls use them to store things in, as pretend dishes, to make patterns, stack...etc.

By far, the favorite of both my preschoolers: DRESS UPS!

(you can find some fun stuff for boys to dress up like pirates, etc at the dollar store, especially around Halloween time)

Building blocks:

Anything that resembles a phone: I bought this calculator at the dollar store, but my 18 month old will also carry a domino tile around like a phone!

Etcha Sketch? Never gets TOUCHED!

Magna Doodle, on the other hand, is a HUGE hit!

We have barbies and polly pockets, but these little princess figurines are easier to play with and the kids love them just as much if not more! Plastic hair that doesn't get snarled, rubber clothes that they can change easily, and their heads don't pop off! You can find them for $3-$5

Strollers are loved from the time they can walk until...I don't know. All my kids still love them!

Bum Cushions

Found this tutorial via Pinterest:
http://www.livingwithpunks.com/2010/05/tutorial-land-of-nod-inspired-floor.html

And here is my finished product:

The piping really is not very hard to work with, and considering I am a TOTAL rooky at sewing...that is really saying something! It's a really good tutorial. I skipped the handle. The kids love 'em and they go great in the pink and green polka dot room!

Baby Shower: Girl

I combined efforts with some "sister-in-laws" to put together a baby shower for another one of my sisters. I was in charge of the games:

We had a sock sort challenge: How many pairs can you match and fold in 1 minute?

 We had a baby item memory game. Filled a baking sheet with all sorts of regular baby items, showed them to everyone, then hid them....

Then we had everyone write down as many of them as they could think of.

And, lastly, we had a baby bottle chug! This was a big hit. I used newborn size nipples and only gave them 2 oz each. It was pretty difficult and slow!

But there was lots of laughter!

And, of course, I had to picture the "diaper cake" present!

Super Hero Baby Shower

My sister chose a Super Hero theme for her nursery for her little guy. I hopped on to Pinterest, hoping to find some good inspiration for a Super Hero themed Baby Shower and...I was highly disappointed. I only found about 2 or 3 things. I used what I found, and also printed up some Super Hero clip art for various signs. Here is the finished product:

The Arc of Presents (before presents had really arrived). 

Entry Sign: Super Moms Unite!

 Breakfast of Champions:

Game: Using a nerf gun to shoot down bottles/nipples. This was a lot of fun!

I also came across a website where you can make your own crossword puzzle, so we did a super hero crossword puzzle.

Despicable Me Minion

I love family themed costumes. This Halloween, we all went as Despicable Me characters. Now, you can't have a Despicable Me theme...without...a MINION!

So, I took 2 giant Nesquick tubs (the kind from Costco) and duct taped them together:

 We have some yellow, microfiber rags, so I taped one around the tubs. It didn't quite fit all the way around, and I didn't care enough to cover his back...

Then, I found some unused denim scraps:

Cut up the center for some legs:

Toilet paper rolls stuck in little black shoes:

 If I had more time, I would have made a cute little pocket for the little guys overalls, but I ran out of time. I just hot glued the pants to the microfiber rag.

Took a Mason Jar lid for the one eye:

cut out some white paper, drew the eye, and glued it to the inner part of the lid:

Used Duct Tape to fasten on the eye, and permanent marker to draw on a smile. Then I cut another microfiber rag in half, rolled the two sides up, and Duct Taped them on as arms: 

Pretty low key minion, but maybe it will help spark an idea for you, who knows?

Curtains

We are FINALLY getting around to mounting our curtains! Now that summer is over and the curtains will just be open all of the time. Nice!

In the Master Bedroom, I found the brackets and rod at Ikea and ordered the sheer curtains through Groupon. They are Maytex sheer curtains and I got the pair for about $19 (counting shipping).

I found the finials at Hobby Lobby for something like $8 for the pair.

In the family room and the dining room, we bought 10 foot full round rods from Home Depot, raw wood brackets and round finials from Hobby Lobby, and used some wood stain from an old project. I sanded the wood down, used some wood conditioner (and I actually tested it: using the conditioner  first DOES make a difference!), then put two coats of the stain on everything.

The curtains are $10 for a pair at Ikea.