We interrupt your regularly scheduled craft time . . .

To wish this amazing kid a very

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY!

You've been a joy since you first entered the world -

singing from the first minute you took a breath.

(And freaking the entire hospital staff out!)

You're strong, righteous, courageous, compassionate,

and funny - everything a mom hopes her son will be.

I love you to the moon and back, to infinity and beyond,

forever and ever.

Always remember that.

 

 

  

I'm so proud of you and all the wonderful choices you've made -

including the one to be baptized.

Eight truly is great!
Good job, JT Boy!
Love,
Your Mom

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: Painting with Pachyderms

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the special media event "Painting with Pachyderms". All opinions are my own. 

This week my kids had the amazing opportunity for an up-close encounter with

two of the fantastic elephants from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
and spend the morning on the floor of the circus painting with elephants and clowns.

It was a fantastic experience and one I know they will remember and retell for years to come.

The clowns were there to greet us and JT was so excited to get to see them up close.
He missed having his picture taken with them when we attended the circus last week,
so we jumped at the chance to snap a photo with three of the fun performers.


The adorable Ashley Vargas, Preshow Host and animal presenter, was there
to greet us and get the kids amped up about the rare opportunity they were about to experience. 
She helped them figure out just the right words that would call Baby and Mabel
out from behind the curtain to join us for this pachyderm painting adventure.

 

Mabel, an 8-year-old Asian elephant, was the star of the morning and gave the kids
a run for their money with her dexterity at using her trunk to paint a colorful masterpiece.

I think that Mabel did a fantastic job!

And one lucky Preshow attendee might get the chance to win an elephant masterpiece,

just like someone did the night we attended the circus.

After Mabel and Baby, who is not quite a baby at 51-years-old, bid us farewell

and went backstage to get ready for their next show, the kids popped open their

paints and got to work creating masterpieces of their own.

JT decided to paint a dragon snake that was full of color and pizazz.

Isabella opted for a pink elephant with a rainbow motif as she took pointers

from one of the sweet clowns that took time to paint with the kids that morning.

A {HUGE} big top sized THANK YOU to the people (and animals)

at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey for this priceless experience to paint with pachyderms.

A few things we learned about the second largest land mammal today:

• There are less than 35,000 Asian elephants left on Earth today and and they have been on the endangered species list for 32 years.
• Ringling Bros. is dedicated to the care and conservation of the Asian elephant. In 1995 it established the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida for the conservation, breeding, scientific study and retirement of the endangered Asian elephant.
• Ringling Bros. always has 24/7 care and security for their animals. There is always a veterinarian on-call and ready for the animals in whatever city the show is located.
• The elephants and trainers have mutual respect for each other through a positive, healthy environment. Positive reinforcement techniques (ie praise, repetition, reward) are the only acceptable and employed elephant training methods.
• As of this week, 26 Asian elephant calves have been bred and born in captivity at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey: Built to Amaze is at the Anaheim Honda Center

through August 4th. For more information visit their website - Ringling Bros.

Summer Fun: Dress-Up Shenanigans

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Costume Express.

During summer vacation I am always looking for great ways to get my

kids out from behind the screens (ie TV, tablet, computer, video games) and using

their minds and creating great memories with each other.

The kids both love to read and color, but they can only do that for so many

hours of the day before they are looking for something else to do.

One great thing I've found helps them use their imagination is playing dress up!

We love costumes and when the kids have a new costume, they are more apt

to play dress up with those costumes instead of trying to hang out in front of the TV all day.

I feel like since technology is so readily available these days - seriously, I carry a computer

around with me all day in my phone - that is is so easy to just let the kids

play with those things because they are clean - ie no messes are produced by vegging 

in front of a TV. However, it is in making messes either through playing dress up or 

exploring different art mediums or baking with mom, that kids make real life

experiences, stretch their imaginations and live life!

So we headed to Costume Express to pick out some new dress up costumes

for the kids to use in their dramatic play. JT had been after me to make him a 

Batman costume ever since Isabella inherited a Batgirl costume a few weeks ago.

And Isabella is totally obsessed with Mulan and her beautiful dress she wears to meet

the Matchmaker, so she picked out a pretty pink kimono style dress.

We totally lucked out because Costume Express has free shipping on orders over $75

and a 15% off your order coupon with email sign up.

The kids were thrilled when their fantastic new dress up costumes arrived.

They immediately put them on and did a fashion show for me

and showed me all the cool things the costumes included.

They talked my ear for a full 20 minutes about how awesome they were,

and ran back and forth to the bathroom mirror to check out their awesomeness.

After the excitement dust settled, the kids headed to their bedroom

to fully submerge themselves into their dramatic play world.

I feel like undirected play is becoming a thing of the past 

in this new world of helicopter moms that want to handle and solve 

all the issues that arise when kids play together.

So I love when my kids want to play in their bedroom and work out

how to merge Batman and princess Mulan into a viable experience for both, 

I am all for it and try to stay out of the way as much as possible.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you leave your 10 month old 

unattended to play alone in another room or else you're a helicopter mom.

I'm saying that when children are at the age when it is developmentally appropriate

for them to experiment with dramatic play with their peers that you should let them

Remember, I said "undirected" not "unsupervised" :)

I know that if my kids have over-exposure to a toy or a costume that it's appeal becomes extinct.

So, one way I combat that is with the rotating dress up costume wardrobe.

Isabella's grandparents made this amazing dress up wardrobe for her birthday this year.

I keep things fresh and new by rotating the costumes that appear on the wardrobe.

I have a plain old plastic bin that I keep the costumes that aren't in rotation in

and then every 2-3 weeks I change out the costumes that hang on the wardrobe.

Then it seems like there are "new" dress up costume options fairly regularly.

They use the same concept at Pretend City and I adapted it to work at home.

I know my kids are happier when they haven't spent the entire day in front of 

the screens in our house, and I love how dress up encourages them

to unplug to play and make memories with one another.

So, if you're feeling like your kids are disenchanted with their toys or costumes,

then try out the rotation system so that it's always fresh and exciting at your house.

You'll be surprised how much more often you find them stealing away

to explore and play cooperatively with each other.

And then you'll get looks like this when they catch you spying on them :)

You can keep up with Costume Express on:

{WEBSITE}

{TWITTER}

{FACEBOOK}

Summer Craft: Hot Rocks

Last summer we did a fun kid-friendly activity that helps get

the kids outdoors and enjoying their surroundings.

HOT ROCKS!

Tutorial: Handprint Parrot Project for Kids

 

 Disclaimer: I was given a Jo-Ann gift card to purchase supplies. All opinions are my own.

Remember that one summer when I was going to be a fantastic mommy and

do Mommy School like three days a week and do all these literacy based

activities with my kids and they were going to be so smart by the end of the summer?

Well, I decided that I was going to try to reclaim that title of fantastic mommy and

do Mommy School at least once a week - that's fantastic, right?

So after reading the book How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long,

I started perusing the Jo-Ann Cape Discovery Spring Catalog to find ideas.

It's a darling story about how young Jeremy Jacob joins the pirate crew of

Captain Braid Beard for swashbuckling adventure, only to discover that "Pirates don't tuck."

Super darling and a perfect companion when reading Where the Wild Things Are.

The first project that grabbed my eye was this handprint parrot.

I knew it was the perfect project that both my 4-year-old and 7-year-old could complete.

We headed to Jo-Ann to pick up a few missing supplies and I found

this rad Palmer Washable Glitter Tempera Paint, so of course I had to have it.

You'll need:

 tempera paint, brushes, good paper, construction paper,

glue, and some funky googly eyes

 

First - paint up your little one's hand.

The Jo-Ann project only had red wings, but my future zoologist said

that parrots need to have multi-colored wings, so multi-colored it was!

You'll have to paint the hand three times and position it three different times

to make the wings and the tail feather.

I turn the paper in the right direction for the kids instead of trying to make

them twist their hands in a weird direction.

Next, you need to cut the head, body, and head feathers out of construction paper.

In order to make this an opportunity to practice cutting skills I drew the circles

on the paper and had the kids cut them out themselves.

Then, glue your construction pieces on and add some funky googly eyes.

Voila! A cute little multi-colored handprint parrot to hang on your fridge.

The kids were both about having their hands painted and especially liked the googly eyes.

It was such a fun project to do on a gloomy summer day that extended our

literary learning for the day and made connections to the the text with something

that was fun and different for the kids to make.

If you're looking some fun summer projects to do with your kids,
be sure to check out the Jo-Ann Discovery Cape catalog online.
And if you like receiving deals from Jo-Ann Fabric,
be sure to sign up for their Preferred Customer email and text list -
you'll get a 20% coupon just for signing up.

Summer Reading Ideas for Boys

Holla! Check me out, I am guest posting at Rockin' Boys Club
about summer reading for boys.
If you have a boy, and you need lists of books to read for summer,
then head over and check them out.
I also offer some helpful tips for motivating boys to read throughout the summer.
Come visit me!

Giveaway: Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Regional Park

Disclosure: I was provided tickets to giveaway by Wheel Fun Rentals. All opinions are my own.

I have a fantastic giveaway for you!!

Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Park Bike and Paddle Boat Rentals

has offered to give away 2 fantastic prize packages to my readers today.

We super heart Wheel Fun Rentals! 

It is so fun to rent one of their rad single surrey or deuce coupe bikes

and ride around the beautiful Irvine Regional Park for an hour.

My kids love it - because they just get to hang out and shout

at their parents to go faster, but even though my husband and I

are doing all the work, we think it is so much fun too.

We've created some great memories and we hope to get back soon

and maybe take one of the paddle boats for a spin this summer.

The two prize packages I'm giving away today are:

Prize Package #1

·         1 Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Park deuce coupe bike rental

·         4 Irvine Park Railroad train tickets

Prize Package #2

·         1 Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Park paddle boat rental

·         4 Irvine Park Railroad train tickets

JT with Shelby (from OC Mom Blog) and her son on a paddle boat.

 About Wheel Fun Rentals:

Wheel Fun Rentals^® at Irvine Park bike and paddle boat rentals offers the ultimate in fun and recreation for the entire family to enjoy. 

Our fleet of bikes include the surrey, double surrey, deuce coupe, quad sport, chopper, tandem bikes, cruiser bikes and kids bikes. 

Children 18 years of age and younger are required to wear a helmet when riding a bike. Helmets are provided at no additional cost and are also available to all riders upon request. 

We also rent paddle boats (aqua cycles) that can be safely enjoyed by 2 to 3 riders. Our fleet of Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Park paddle boats is among the best and most fun family activities in Orange County. The paddle boats are ideal for sightseeing, people watching, exercising or simply enjoying the lake inside of Irvine Regional Park. 

Children under the age of 13 are required to wear a life jacket when riding a paddle boat. Life jackets are provided at no additional cost and are also available to all riders upon request.

Open daily at 10:00 am through October 31st.

Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Park is open daily at 10:00 am through October 31st. For more information, click here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Teacher Appreciation: GIANT Teacher Candy-Gram

 Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week in our school district,

and each day the room mom had a theme for the day.

I really like this idea. The PTA at our school last year did the same

thing and I liked it on a school wide basis better because

then if you have children in multiple grade levels you don't have to remember

3-4 different themes each day.

One of our themes was "a note or a card". At first I thought I'd just do a giant card,

but then after thinking about it I thought - a teacher appreciation candy-gram would be awesome!

It was so much fun to make and put together and hunt down specific candies.

Some of the candy bars I didn't find were a 5th Avenue bar, small serving Sprees and Whoppers.

But the day after we gave this to JT's teacher I stopped at the 99 cent Only Store

and found all three of them. So, next year I will for sure just hit up the dollar store

first to find all the candy first.

I bought the poster board at Walmart and used a Sharpie to write the message.

I hot glued the the candy to the poster and it worked really well.

I love my hot glue gun!

 

Be sure check out my other Teacher Appreciation ideas if you need

some more fun things to give your favorite teacher!