Park project

I saw this idea, make a park passport, in Disney's Family Fun magazine and thought it was kinda cheesy. But then I reconsidered...it would add something new to our park outings. So we tried it today and the boys loved it!
Here is what we did:

• I printed out a map and we used double sided tape to adhere it to a 4x8 card. Brant loves looking at maps and comes up with amazing stories about where he is traveling, etc. I almost recorded him talking today it was so darn cute. I think this was his favorite part of the project.
• I had the boys decorate the cover for our "park book."
• I printed out the pictures we took at the park and we pasted them onto an index card to make a "page" for our park book. 
• Beneath the pictures on the card I wrote the name of the park and the date we went. Normally we talk about the month, etc. when we are doing our "daily planner" (see blog entry on 3/21/11). This was a good way to talk about dates, months, etc. in a different setting.
• We talked about what their favorite part was about the visit (of course this was my favorite part). On the back of the park "page" I wrote down what they liked, etc. They also have their own names for parks ("Let's go to the red park, mom." "Let's go to the rock park.") and I document that as well.
• I'm going to keep the pages together and when we run out of parks to visit I'm going to tie them all together. I'll keep you posted on this project.

caterpillars

Today while Mason and Jaxon was sleeping, Brant and I made pom-pom caterpillars. I was shocked at how much he loved the end result. He carried it with him for the rest of the afternoon. No name yet.
You need googly eyes, glue and pom poms.

Vamp up your PB&J

I stress out about my kids getting enough nourishment because it feels like they only want the same stuff all of the time. PB&J is a perfect example. Brant is always asking for it; here is what I did to bump up the nutrition.

Combo 1: Use real peanut butter. We did for a while and then bought a huge container of Skippy at Cosco and and now I have to wean my kids back onto real peanut butter (Krema is my FAV). I do this by mixing together half Skippy, half real PB until in a few days I'm only using the real stuff.

Combo 2: Once on the real PB, I will take a few scoops of PB and put it in a small bowl. I then add a teaspoon of flaxseed oil and mix. I LOVE flaxseed oil. It has no flavor and your body instantly absorbs it. All seeds are awesome for you but your body cannot break it down unless you chew the seeds really well. I have seen whole flax seeds in oatmeal, granola bars, etc. That's great but those seeds will just pass through your body whole if not chewed down properly. Flaxseed oil or flaxseed meal is better because the hard work is done for you, all you have to do is swallow. Same with chia seeds. People are adding these seeds to breads, smoothies, etc. But if you are not grinding them before you add them to your food, your body is not absorbing any of the nutrients. Anyway, I put small amounts of flaxseed oil in their yogurt, smoothies, etc. I started doing this as young as 8mons. A good flaxseed oil will cost you minimum $10 and must be kept cold.

Combo 3: Mix PB and 1 teaspoon of Tahini. Tahini is ground sesame seeds; it's in hummus. Test Tahini first as it, and all nuts really, are a high allergen food. However, they are extremly good for your body - so many nutrients, high in calcium and protein. When I made baby food for my boys, at 8 mons I always added tahini to at least one or two feedings per day. "Seeds are loaded with nutrients. If a seed is placed in the ground, it grows. If a seed is placed in water, it sprouts. Nature must have put a concentrated store of nutrients in the seed, which can grow a new plant with no soil and nothing more than plain water. The seed is life itself." Ruth Yaron Super Baby Food on "nuts, seeds and sprouts".

Combo 4: Mix PB and almond butter or walnut butter, cashew butter, etc. Trader Joe's has reasonable prices on their jars and its worth it if its going to add nutrients to your kids' diets.

Baking Soda uses

My obsession with baking soda began because yes, I wanted to use something safe around my kids but also when I was pregnant most smells made me sick - cleaning products were one of them. We bought two 13-pound bags of baking soda at Cosco last week for $8. It sounds like a lot of baking soda but we are already down to one bag.
Here is how I'm using it:


Pool care: This was the first year we used baking soda to open our pool. It was the worst our pool ever looked so my husband and I were both worried. We poured bleach and baking soda (I know my husband added something else but not sure what) into the pool and in less than three days our pool looked amazing. We saved so much money and time getting the pool opened this year it was awesome!!

Neutralizer: I keep baking soda by the sink and wash my hands with it at least once a day. It takes the odor from garlic or onion right out and makes my hands feel smooth.

Teeth: Ever since being pregnant with my first, Brant, the taste of ANY toothpaste makes me sick. Sometimes I can use Sensodyn but I usually just sprinkle baking soda on my toothbrush. A few times a week I make a paste out of peroxide and baking soda and brush away.

Traction: The first year we were in the house with Brant and it snowed, he wanted to eat the salt from everyone's shoes. It drove me crazy!! I was worried all of the time about who was tracking in what. I read about using baking soda on your sidewalks instead (Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron). It was awesome and if any tracked on a rug or tile it actually helped clean your floors when you wiped it up.

Laundry: I always add a cup of baking soda to my towels and blankets. When I was pregnant with Brant I bought a bag of Charlie's Soap (charliesoap.com) for $14 - to clean Brant's cloth diapers. Well who knew I would be so grossed out by cloth diapers? I sold the cloth diapers on craigslist but didn't want the soap to go to waste. So I kept adding it to my loads of towels and blankets. I loved the result. I can't find a list of ingredients to Charlie's Soap but I'm sure it has baking soda in it - my towels and blankets feel the exact same for an eighth of the price.

Cleaning: When I clean with baking soda I get flashbacks of being little and having comet in a can under the sink. Just like that powdery comet, baking soda works best on the tub, sink, or toilet. You can make a paste with water and safely clean anything but you need to wipe it down with a wet towel, which I will forget to do.

Garbage and Fridge: I grew up with every trash can having baking soda on the bottom of the can. I do the same in my house and also have a box of baking soda in every refrigerator and freezer.

Carpet: We have carpet in the basement so I always sprinkle a generous amount over it and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Ideally I would like it to sit overnight but it doesn't always happen. If I'm having company and feel paranoid about how the basement smells I just mix a pinch of cinnamon into the baking soda I'm sprinkling over the carpet. I also sprinkle baking soda over stuffed animals (either shake it out or use a vacuum), car seats (child and adult) and carpet in van.

rock painting project

A dewy summer morning is my favorite part of the day. Beautful sky, birds chirping - what could be better? Enjoying the scenery with a cup of coffee engaging the boys in a project (so I can enjoy a hot cup of coffee). So far I have been engaging them in garden stuff but I came across this rock-painting idea from Disney's Family Fun Magazine and thought it would be great to do outside.

Tools:

• Rocks
• Paint
• Paint brush

The boys and I gathered rocks from our front yard and cleaned off any that had dirt on them. I put down an old vinyl tablecloth on our back deck and had them paint the rocks. It was easy to clean up with the hose right there and I think the rocks turned out great! Have a look!

Fish race for kiddos

Easy project I read about in Disney's Family Fun Magazine. One of those things where you say, how did I NOT think of this idea?? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Tools:

• Scissors
• Construction paper

We picked out a color to make the fish then cut fish shapes out of construction paper. Each boy got three fish. Then I lined up three blue sheets of construction paper, spaced apart down the hallway. I had the boys stand at our "start line" and yelled GO! It was a race to see who could put their fish back into the "ponds" first.

Then we played a different way.
I gave all six fish to Mason and had him close his eyes. I placed the "ponds" all over the room. READY. SET. GO. Mason had to see how fast he could find each "pond" and safely put the fish back in it.

You can customize this to your child's liking. For example cut out bug or flower shapes and have your child return the bug/flower to the grass (a sheet of green construction paper).

Soil combo for garden

I feel a TON better about the garden! We, which means my husband, tilled it and it just looked so awful - almost clay-like. Today we mixed together miracle grow plant soil, cow manure and peet and planted the rest of the plants. I still have more to plant but feel we put a huge dent into it today.
I will keep you posted on the progress.