Blobbie Globbie

I made this game for a class back in college and am so glad I saved it because my kids LOVE it! Its really simple I just cut two blob shapes from multicolored paper and write a capital letter on one and lowercase on the other. Then glue the uppercase ones down, laminate or cover with contact paper, and save lower cases in a baggie. The color and different shapes can be a self-check so older kids can do it on their own-- my son likes me to time him while he does it. My daughter likes to sit on my lap and have me hand her one at a time and we'll talk about whose name has what letter-- I did this with my son and now he'll say "J is for aunt Joy". Its a simple game, I think my kids also love just saying the name :)

Some hang ups and an easy game

Today all three kids napped at the same time! So, I made a little sign to hang in the bathroom behind the sink for them to look at or for Daddy and Mommy to go over with them while they brush their teeth, wash hands, etc. I figure I will switch up the signage as I am able, but here is my first one about money:
Then, I cut up little pictures with numbers on them to play a game with the kids while I am feeding the baby. I am going to hide the cards and as they find them they have to bring it to me and say what number they found. Simple, but it helps to have fun while learning :)

Homemade rolls

My sister has been baking some awesome homemade bread, so this afternoon while everyone else was napping, I made some dinner rolls from scratch and they came out great! I made 12 and there wasn't one left! I went to www.breadworld.com where they have some great and easy recipes! Happy Baking!

Mangos

One of my biggest regrets is not making homemade baby food for my older two kids because it is so easy! Baby O has been eating purred veggies for awhile, so this morning I decided to change it up and puree a mango for him and he loved it-- it was so cute to see him get all excited! In case you are nervous too about making homemade baby food, dont be: Its so easy! For veggies: steam, mash, and then puree with a little water added in to get desired consistency. Fruit is easier: just pop it in the blender, add some water, and voila: Baby food! I am looking forward to doing some fun combinations soon and blending up baby portions of our food.

Counting By tens

My four year old son loves his numbers, so I wanted him to really begin learning how to count by two's, five's, and ten's in a fun way, so we jump around and count 10-20-30-40-50... my three and four year old love counting this way. Then we do jumping jacks and count the same way till we get to 100 and then we all fall down. Its so simple and gets everyone moving and bruning some energy what with all the snow outside. My three year old has been really, really into coloring so we color on the windows and the tubs (test a small surface first) since washable markers are pretty easy to take off of everything with just a sponge. Since they are in to playing post office, I gave them tons of envelopes and stickers to write letters to people and then we use shopping totes for mail bags and resend them and mail them all over the house :)

Fall Fun

Fall is our absolut favorite time of the year! We live for it and totally embrace getting out at every possible moment! Today we voted and then turned over and weeded our sorry little flower and vegetable beds... but no matter how they look, we did it together! We have been loving just getting out and walking in the leaves and finding sticks. We built a fairy home out of all things nature and then knocked it down, but it was still so much fun! So happy fall!