Easy DIY Lava Lamp

Ah, Lava Lamps. I remember when I was about 12 years old I had a few friends who had these and begged for one of my own. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be!
Until now!

Special thanks to this site for the idea, check it out for other great experiments to do with your kids!

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/easylavalamp.html

This was so easy to make... here is how you and your kids can make one of your own...

You'll need:

*Clear plastic bottle

*Water

*Vegetable oil

*Food coloring

*Alka-seltzer tablet

Start by filling up your water bottle about a quarter full of water, then the rest with vegetable oil. After a minute drop in your food coloring. 

Then break up your tablet of alka-seltzer and drop in a piece. Watch your kids faces light up as they see this start to happen... 

Check it out in action!

Have fun!~ Miranda

Paper towel water transfer science experiment for kids

We have been having so much science fun lately in our house. From balloon powered rockets to experimenting with food coloring, my little guy is having a blast learning!

I got this idea off Pinterest from:
http://wemadethat.blogspot.com/2013/03/water-transfer-experiment.html
Special thanks to this site for helping me explain this water transfer experiement to my son: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/escapingwater.html

First, I started out with only 4 glasses and added another after the process began (I found some green food coloring that had fallen out of the box!).

So set up your station with atleast 2 or more glasses. Your middle glasses should be empty... like this:

Drop some food coloring into the water, you could skip this step... but I like how the color helps you to see the process better!

Then take some paper towels and drape them from glass to glass. It should look like this:

Then you wait.

And wait... until-

YAY!

Enjoy!~ Miranda

Experimenting with food coloring!

What little kid doesn't love experiments? I know my 3 year old does. He loves colors, seeing how things work and watching cause and effect.

So I set up a little station for him to experiment what happens when you introduce food coloring to other things, like water & baking soda.

Here is what we used to set up our little station...

I started out by having CJ drop some food coloring into a cup of water. He watched as it all mixed together.
Then we poured some food coloring into a bowl with vegetable oil. The saw how the food coloring didn't expand and mix.

Then we poured water into the bowl...

Then we moved onto the milk, food coloring and dish soap experiment. First pour a small layer of milk into a bowl or plate, drop some food coloring into the middle then drop some dishsoap on top and watch it swirl!

Here is a video of our fun, including the grand finale- baking soda & vinegar!

Have fun~ Miranda!

Door step Bunny drop, last minute Easter fun!

"Some Bunny" loves you! Who doesn't like to feel the love every now and then from friends? What what better way than with a door step bunny drop? I found these cute little felt bunny baskets for $1.00 at Target today. Aren't they cute? I also picked up 2 small containers of Hello Kitty bubbles for $1.00 total. Threw in some Easter basket grass, along with plastic eggs filled with goodies like candy and peeps. Then put a note inside saying "Some Bunny Loves You" and dropped it at some neighbor's door steps. 

What a cute, easy quick way to let someone know you are thinking about them this Easter, and really fun for the kids too!

~ Miranda

A Very Manly Easter Basket

Easter isn't always about the kiddos, sometimes we show our love to a spouse by making a special Easter basket. Here's some ideas for the special man in your life this Easter:

-Ties
 Fun ones, serious ones or holiday ones, most men appreciate a new tie. Ties are great to roll up and put in an Easter egg too!

-Beer
Maybe instead of Easter eggs the bunny left something a little more suited to your honey's taste? Individual beer bottles placed here and there in his basket will make him smile wide (especially since most stores are closed on Easter!)

-Bottle Opener

How else are you gonna open all that beer? There are so many cool options for beer openers especially if you've got a nerd for a sweetheart!








-Book
Buy him the next book in his favorite series (Game of Thrones, anyone?). Or one he's been drooling over for a while. If he's an electronic reader then maybe a gift card instead.

-Video Game
Speaking of entertainment... the new Army of Two came out just in time for Easter!

-Jewelry or Watch
You can even go big with his basket and slip a new watch (pocket watches are coming back!) or his choice of jewelry into an Easter egg. I bet he'd never expect it.

-Giant Candy!

What guy wouldn't like this?! Find it at Vat19.com













And last but not least:

-Coffee Mug
Get it personalized or nerded out, whatever the mug, just know that he'll never let you use it!


Happy Easter!
-Kelsey

Easter Basket Ideas for kids ages 1 to teens. *NO CANDY*

No candy Easter basket ideas for kids from ages 1 to teens. We even some ideas on fun themed baskets!

AGES 1-2

Pull and go soft race cars
B. Wheeee-Is! Soft Cars 4-pack

Safe car keys set
B. FunKeys

Favorite movies or CD of favorite songs

Clifford's Happy Easter, Norman Bridwell

Easter book
Clifford's Happy Easter, by Norman Bridwell

Easter life the flap book
Where are baby's Easter eggs? By Karen Katz

God Gave Us Easter, by Lisa Tawn Bergren, Laura J Bryant





Blocks
Mega Bloks Farm Blocks

Sidewalk Chalk
*Couldn't find a link, but the dollar section of Target has some with a holder so it doesn't get messy on little one's hands*

Kids this age love to open up plastic eggs, put fun things inside them in their Easter Basket
*socks
*squirt toys
*Little People Princess pack or Super Hero pack
*stickers
*Coins for piggy bank (it goes without saying, under adult supervision)

Sunglasses

Baby safe crayons and Easter coloring book
My First Crayons, Crayola Washable 2 pack

Stuffed bunny or chick

Snack Mix (like Goldfish or Cheerio's)

Spring Time PJ's

Instead of a basket, put gifts inside a bucket or bin that can be used for storage.


AGES 2-3

Step 2 Waterwheel play table

Maybe the Easter Bunny left a big present outside, like a water table?
Step 2 Waterwheel play table

Bubbles

Sidewalk Chalk

Snack mix - Like Annie's Pretzel & Cheddar Bunnies

DVDs or CDs

Books
Llama Llama Red Pajama, By Anna Dewdney


Again with the plastic eggs, here are some ideas for this age group
*temporary tattoos
*money
*stickers
*mini bottles of bubbles
*mini coloring books or note pads
*mini nail polish
*matchbox cars

Water color paint set

Spring Time PJ's Carter's Boys or Carter's Girls

Flip Flops

Hair Bows

Hat

T-ball and bat

Again, a bucket or bin that could be used to store toys later would be a good idea, instead of the traditional basket.

Themed Baskets for kiddos!

"Summer Fun Basket/vacation to the beach planned"

Sunglasses

Flip flops or crocs

Swim suit

Sand toys, like hand shovels, molds etc. Sizzlin' Cool 11 Piece Beach & Garden Set

Beach ball

Floaties

Beach towel

Activity book for summer trip car rides

Items could go inside a beach bag instead of basket


"Super Hero Basket"

Spiderman Flipout car

Action figures  Marvel Spider-Man Adventure Playskook Heroes

Peel and stick wall decals Roommates Batman Wall Decals

Bandaids with their favorite super hero

Superhero mask and accessories Spider-Man Marvel Mask

Superhero PJ's


Books about their favorite Superhero Marvel - The Incredible Hulk

A Cape

Superhero shirt

Big boy Superhero undies


"Girly-Girl Basket"

Tiara

Dress up jewelry

Dress up clothes

Wand

Beauty Shop Play Play Circle Beauty Shop Hairdressing Set

Play makeup

Hair bows

Pinkalicious Tickled Pink, by Victoria Kann

Princess Barbie doll

Pinkalicious book Pinkalicious Tickled Pink Paperback, by Victoria Kann

DVD Barbie : The Princess & The Popstar

Princess puzzle, or memory card game

Princess PJ's

Big girl princess undies


"Construction/Working Man Basket"

Instead of a basket, use a large construction truck and put goodies in the bed of the truck...

CD of songs John Deere: Crazy About Tractors

Mini trucks Caterpillar Mini Machines 5 Pack

Building blocks

Hard hat

Tool belt Tomy Talking Tool Belt

Ruler

Play-doh

Colored pencils (for drawing blue prints!)

Ideas for tweens & teens

For a girl, maybe a new purse instead of a basket and inside...

New phone cover

Amazon gift card- for music, books or anything

Make up

Sunglasses

Season pass to local water park or amusement park

Gift card to their favorite store

For a boy, how about a new pair of tennis shoes and inside...

New phone cover

Amazon gift card- for music, books or anything

Season pass to local water park or amusement park

New wallet

Gift card to their favorite store

Simple, Adorable Cotton Candy Easter Cake *frugal alert!*

I had to redeem myself after my pastel colored deviled eggs incident. I thought the best way to do that was with a cake, a treat for everyone! This one was super easy, and super frugal! May I present... cotton candy Easter cake-

I am no baker. Store bought cake mix is usually my go to and was in this case. Here is what I used to make this little cutie...

I got all ingredients at Walmart. Gotta admit, I haven't seem little icing decorations for cakes like this in years so I picked up a pack. 

So I got to mixing, all the while my 3 year old is at my feet asking if the birthday cake was for him. "Where are my balloons?", "I want Spiderman party!". My explanation of this being an Easter cake for everyone went unheard. 

I decided to make the batter purple, mixing blue and red food coloring, this part is up to you. I just like purple, it's such a spring-y color!

So just follow the instructions on your cake mix, and let it cool after it's finished baking. In the mean time I mixed up my cotton candy frosting creation! *Note- I had never used this before. It's a good idea to not have your face anywhere near the container of frosting when you begin to mix, the power from the flavor mix pack just exploded everywhere and covered me!*

So after the cake cooled I got to frosting. I am not a good at this step.. don't expect a cake from me to look professional in anyway! :)

The I put the little bunnies around the cake, my little guy was yelling with glee "The bunnies are dancing around the cake!". 

Finished product...

Little Man was trying to sneak some frosting... and then tried to bribe me with kisses for a piece of cake.

So of course I caved in a gave him a piece. 

Happy First Day of Spring! ~ Miranda

Photo a day challenge February 2013

You may have seen this photo challenge floating around Pinterest! I wanted to come up with one that would challenge my creative side and also be fun. 

Get creative. Take a challenge and put your own spin on it. Do something out of the ordinary. 

So enjoy! I do hope you take part in this, and feel free to comment with a link back to your photos from February 2013. 

Thanksgiving craft for little hands

This was such a fun little craft for my little guy. We just put some different paint colors on a paper plate, he swirled them and then dipped his whole hand in, then put his handprint on paper. I had some googly eyes laying around (as every Mom should!) and added the legs. His print came out perfect and is proudly displayed in our kitchen for everyone to see!

Do you follow our boards on Pinterest? If not, be sure to go do that now! We will be pinning lots of Thanksgiving inspiration for you, and as always will try to keep it simple and frugal!

Birthday Traditions your Children will never forget!

It is never too early to begin Birthday traditions for the kiddos in your life. I recently posted this tutorial on how to make a balloon Birthday Wreath. We will pull this out every year a few days before my Son's Birthday so he knows his special day is coming.

Here are some other ways to make your child's Birthday special, starting when they first roll out of bed in the morning!

Starting the night before his birthday I started to get some surprises ready for him. I used streamers to put over his door frame, and hung a few balloons from the top of his door. The point was for him to bust out of the room! But my Son got sneaky and did a belly crawl out of his room under the streamers! He is too silly!

I put some balloons down the hallway leading to a little present for him to open in the morning. 

Each balloon was weighed down with quarters, so it was an extra surprise for him!

The next morning I got up super early and put out lots of other balloons in the hallway. 3 balloons had a dollar bill in them. It was a fun little game for him to find the balloons with the money.

When my Little Man woke up in the morning (as a 3 year old!!!) he was so surprised, happy and had the best morning. It was a lot of fun for him, and for me and his Daddy to watch him. Birthdays have always, and will always be a big deal to my family. It's a day to celebrate! So go all out, in any way you can to show your kids how special they are! The will always remember these things, and it's never too early to start traditions for your family that your kids will pass on.

Happy celebrating! ~ Miranda

Birthday Wreath Tutorial!

My Little Man is turning the big 3 tomorrow (please excuse me while I wipe away tears) so I wanted to make something special for him we could pull out every year so he would know his special day is coming!

Of course I got on Pinterest and searched frantically. His birthday snuck up on my BIG TIME this year. I came across the Birthday wreath. Some people make it with balloons and bows, some with only bows, some with streamers etc. You get the picture. I decided to go with a classic balloon theme.

Here is what you will need:

A wreath (foam or straw, I used straw- remember to keep the plastic on it!)
Floral pins (get a pack of at least 200 at your local Walmart or craft store)
Balloons (You will need at least 200 balloons to make a small wreath)
Optional: pipe cleaner, bows etc.
A LOT OF PATIENCE

I know that this sounds like a lot of balloons. But fear not. You can find packs with a ton in them for super cheap at Walmart.

First, if you purchased different sized balloons you will want to pin the larger balloons on first. Just pin them randomly on the wreath. To pin them pull the balloon in between the floral pin with the neck of the balloon sticking out one side and the head of the balloon sticking out the other.

Next, if you are going to use any pipe cleaners you may want to go ahead and pin some of those on too. I just twirled some around my finger to get that "boing" look, as my son likes to call it, then pinned them randomly around the wreath.

Finally, you will want to go ahead and pin in your smaller sized balloons. Please note, don't try to pin a bunch at once with the same floral pin. You will not get a good effect and the balloons will lay limp. Just pin down one balloon at a time. Be sure to pin them all close together.

Now if you have any bows or ribbon you should go ahead and pin them in.

The last thing to do is to place the wreath upright wherever you will be hanging it. You will want to check for any open spaces and make sure you got the sides covered good. You don't want to see any of the straw on the wreath. You can fill in any spaces with more balloons or pipe cleaners.

I hung the wreath with a pipe cleaner because I don't have a wreath hanger.

And there you go. Simple. Fun. You can use it every year. And it didn't break the bank to make it!

Enjoy! ~ Miranda

Rainy Day Movie

I'm so happy to be back blogging. School/Pre-school/General Craziness is now back in session and things have calmed down a bit for us to start blogging away again!

Have you ever made a promise to your child about going to the park or pool or any other outside activity only to have it start pouring down rain the second you're about to go out the door? Yeah, me too. Well with some quick thinking I was able to distract the little one from the disappointment of a cancelled playdate with a movie day!

I found a movie she's never seen before on Netflix ($8 a month and a real lifesaver!) or you could find one at a local Redbox ($1.50).

Now, my little one can't have popcorn yet but there's this really cool rice treat by Plum Organics called 'Crunch 'Ola' and she loves it! It crunches just like popcorn so I thought it would be a fun substitute. 

Last but not least we turned off the lights and threw down some pillows and blankets to lounge on. It was so much fun! Almost like a sleep over and the little one thought it was so special.

Enjoy and Happy Crafting!
-Kelsey

Snow in the Summer- super easy kid fun!

My little guy has been having a hard time recovering from a surgery he had recently, and unfortunately has not been allowed to be outside and run around and enjoy the summer. So we've been left to find ways to occupy our time and hold his interest when the toys are fun anymore and we've watched all our movies at least 3 times. Time to get creative!

We came up with snow in the summer- and it's so simple and easy. You probably already have everything you need in the house. 

My son received some 'shaving cream' as a Christmas present and has never used it. So we busted that out and sprayed it all over the back of a large poster board we didn't need anymore. We smushed the the 'snow' all around, made snowmen and pulled out some cookie cutters to use in it as well. 

Then we splattered some finger paint into the 'snow' and used a straw to swirl all the colors around.

*i love this goldfish crumb face kid!*

This was a simple, easy but fun project for my little guy. I hope you enjoy it too!

~ Miranda