Milk Carton Semi Truck

This project is a little too complicated for my toddler to do right now, but I am definitely printing this one out for future reference. I think this would be a great project for a father and son to do together. Here are the directions to make a model semi-truck out of milk cartons and toilet paper tubes. http://www.freecraftunlimited.com/semi-truck.html

It's the Little Things that Matter

I placed an order with www.reusablebags.com last week and was so excited to dig into that box when it came. I wanted to replace my BPA-laden Nalgene water bottle, and also upgrade my cheap-o canvas grocery bags, which were already ripping at the seams after less than a year of use. I ended up buying these ACME bags - guaranteed for life! - a stainless steel canteen, two stainless steel sippy cups for the kids, and that cool little sandwich bag at the bottom of the picture. I'd never heard of these before, but what a great idea! It folds out into a placemat, and the inside liner wipes clean.

Just had to share!

Craft day! Suncatchers

Today's art project is sun-catchers.  

Materials needed: clear contact paper

scissors

glitter, sequins, tissue paper, or any other small colorful accessories

Cut two smallish equally-sized pieces of the contact paper.

Peel the sticky backing off of one of the pieces.

Here's where the toddler comes in.  I find it helpful to keep mine busy doing something else during the previous steps.  Otherwise I'm likely to find that he's decorated his bedroom with baby powder in the meantime.

Decorate the sticky side of the contact paper with glitter, glitter pens, crumpled tissue squares, sequins, etc.

Peel the paper off of the other piece of contact paper, and stick it to the decorated piece.

You can leave it as is, or cut it into a fun shape.  We went with a heart this time.  

To hang in the window, use a paper punch to punch a hole in the top, loop a string through, and use a suction cup to fasten it to the window.

A variation on this idea:  Using a single piece of contact paper, have your child paint a picture With finger paints or another washable paint, of course (but I'm sure I don't need to tell you that).  After the paint is dry, cut around the design, peel the paper off the back, and stick directly to the window.  It comes off the window easily when you're ready to take it down, even after 6 months.  Not that I've left one up that long.  OF COURSE I wash my windows more than that.

Breaking News

Not ten minutes ago, Sammy came out into the living room and proudly announced, "I go poop in the potty!" Not believing him, I said, "You went poop, or did you just go potty?" He repeated, "I go poop!" Still not believing, I said, "You went poop in the potty chair or in your diaper?" By this point, he was getting exasperated and he said, "I go POOP in the POTTY CHAIR!" I got up to look, and sure enough, he did!

Ron said, "I have to say, that is so much easier to clean up than a dirty diaper. Just one wipe and that's it." Five minutes later, the turd was still in the potty chair, and guess who ended up dumping it in the toilet and cleaning it? NOT Mr. It-Is-So-Much-Easier-To-Clean-Up-This-Way.

Lost: SANITY. Big reward for safe return.

Natalie is now fully mobile. She started crawling, haltingly, about a week ago, but over the weekend she figured out that she can really get places now. Couple that with the fact that she pulls up on everything, and you get trouble. Case in point: this morning, while I was trying to get ready for work, she went over to an end table, pulled herself up, and flung every last magazine on the floor. Then she followed me into the kitchen, opened a cabinet, and pulled out a stack of heavy pots and pans, narrowly avoiding smashing her teeny-tiny toes in the process. This is all in the space of ten minutes. This was an exhausting weekend. Not just for me, though. She tired herself out so much yesterday that she fell asleep in her high chair while we were still eating supper. She didn't even twitch a muscle when I took her to her room, changed her diaper, put on her pajamas, and placed her in her crib.

Even scarier? When she pulls herself up, she lets go and balances for up to 10 seconds at a time. Um, if I remember correctly, that means walking is not too far off. I had really hoped that Sammy would be a better listener (i.e. less likely to take off running in the parking lot) before she started walking, but it looks like I'm not going to be that lucky.

One of our recent craft projects was making suncatchers. They were really easy and used materials that I had around the house. Details and instructions to come later tonight. The pictures are still on my camera. For some odd reason, I didn't have any time this weekend to do anything except CHASE THE CHILDREN.