50 Ways To Spend A Spring Afternoon With Your Tween

When my boys were younger it was so simple to figure out how to spend a sunny spring day together as a family. Now that my oldest kids are tweens, those afternoons spent together seem to happen less these days. Between sports and school activities and electronics, “time with mom” has been bumped down on the priority list. I’ve learned that I have to join their world to really enjoy some quality time with them. Here are 50 ways to spend an afternoon with your preteen:

1) Take the “try not to sing” challenge like their favorite YouTubers do.

2) Paint your nails together.

3) Play a board game.

4) Bake cookies for the bake sale together.

5) Listen to them talk about what they are passionate about. Really listen. (And yes, even if that passion is all currently being dumped into Fortnite and you’d rather talk about anything else other than that video game…)

6) Take a walk.

7) Go on a roadtrip and let them control the radio. (And don’t forget the snacks! Let them go crazy.)

8) Watch a movie together. Pick one they enjoy or introduce them to one of these throwback films.

9) Play catch or hit some balls at a batting cage.

10) Go out for ice cream.

11) Head to the mall and let your tween play stylist and pick an outfit out for you.

12) Let your child teach you how to play their favorite video game.

13) Work together to complete a puzzle.

14) Let them create the menu for the week then grocery shop and cook together.

15) Take a class together and discover a fun, new hobby you both might enjoy.

16) Make these no-bake pudding pies together.

17) Play mini-golf.

18) Let them help you plan your next family vacation.

19) Volunteer together.

20) Go geocaching.

21) Explore a new culture by trying a different cuisine at a restaurant in town.

22) Paint each other’s portrait.

23) Play a yard game like croquet, corn hole or ladder ball.

24) Go to the zoo.

25) Use an ancestry site to build your family tree.

26) Go to a ball game.

27) Be creative at a make your own pottery place

28) Build something together.

29) Make your own pizzas and let them pick the toppings.

30) Do a STEAM activity together (like this lung lift that lets them lift things just by breathing!)

31) Play laser tag or with nerf guns.

32) Garden together. Let them plant their favorite fruits and vegetables along with flowers.

33) Compete against each other while playing an active video game.

34) Go bowling.

35) Play “horse” on the basketball hoop.

36) Have a campfire in a fire pit (don’t forget the s’mores!)

37) Go on a bike ride to a local place they enjoy like their favorite park or restaurant.

38) Setup an obstacle course or relay race and see who is fastest: child or parent.

39) Make a handmade gift for someone.

40) Learn to code together.

41) Go out for fancy “coffee” drinks (Starbucks makes plenty of Frappuccinos without coffee).

42) Make thank you cards for members of the military (here’s where you can send them).

43) Go to a local museum.

44) Make your own fruit popsicles.

45) Have an A to Z scavenger hunt and see who can find the 26 things (one for each letter) the fastest.

46) Have a water balloon fight.

47) Try a new sport together like skateboarding, tennis, or golf.

48) Paint rocks with encouraging sayings and then hide them around town.

49) Turn on their favorite songs and have a dance off.

50) Go to the grocery store and let your tween pick out foods they’ve never tried before. Blindfold them and have a taste test challenge with those and other foods you have in your fridge and pantry to see if they can guess what they are eating. Bonus points for video because you know they will want to post this on YouTube!

What fun activities do you like to do with your tweens during the spring months?

 

 

Active Rainy Day Activities For Kids

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GoldfishGameTime #CollectiveBias

Spring is around the corner which means warmer days are coming and I can’t wait to spend more time outside with my boys. Since springtime also brings rain, I thought it would be fun to share some activities for rainy days, and I particularly wanted to share some activities that will keep kids active and off of electronics when they are stuck inside (but most of these can be done outdoors as well). Most of these activities can be done with items you have around your home already or that can easily be found at Walmart.

What does your family like to do on rainy days? Click the image above to shop online! 

You’ll also want to make sure you have plenty of snacks available because you are probably going to hear “mom, I’m hungry” about a dozen times (and maybe more so if you have growing boys like I do!). We always keep Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish® crackers on hand because everyone in our family enjoys them and they are an easy grab-and-go snack. We also like to utilize them in some of our favorite games like relay races and tabletop basketball.

Here are some fun active rainy day activities that families can do together:

MAKE AND PLAY YOUR OWN TABLETOP BASKETBALL GAME.

Basketball season may be coming to a close soon but tabletop basketball is fun year-round! You can make a little game with just a handful of items: a paper cup, a straw, a coffee pod, scissors, tape, and then grab some Goldfish crackers to use in place of the balls. To make this simple game just cut the bottom and top from a coffee pod, and tape one end of the straw inside the coffee pod and the other end inside the cup (to catch the Goldfish crackers). Let kids take turns throwing the crackers in to the “net” to get a basket. They can see how many they get in to the net without missing or compete to see who can be the first to 20 baskets.

SET UP A RELAY RACE.

Relay races always create some fun competition. This activity’s instructions can vary based on how many people are participating but it’s easy to set up and modify, based on how many participants there are. For two participants you’ll want to put two cups at each end of a hallway, one side’s cups will have Goldfish crackers in them and one side will not. Each child will get a spoon with the goal of getting all their crackers into the cup at the other side of the hall before the other person does. If there are four people or more, split into even teams, giving one child on each team a spoon, and have them pick up one cracker at a time, run to the other end to put it in the empty cup, run back and hand the spoon to the next person in line to do the same thing, and repeat -taking turns- until all the crackers are in the other cup.

MAKE A MASKING TAPE BALANCE BEAM.

Put a piece of tape on the floor in an open area and let kids pretend they are walking on a balance beam. They can try walking backwards, jumping over obstacles put down along the path, or (Luke’s favorite!) show off their best cartwheels.

PUT ON A PLAY.

Kids can choose to act out something they’ve seen before or create their own play. Let them write the script, cast characters, make backdrops and props and then act it out either in front of their family or (if the whole family is participating) in front of an audience of stuffed animals.

HAVE A ‘PIN’TASTIC TIME BOWLING AT HOME.

Who says you need to head to a bowling alley to knock down some pins?! Make a little bowling set with empty water bottles filled with Goldfish crackers and roll a small ball to try to knock down as many “pins” as you can. For some friendly competition, keep score of how many everyone knocks down on each turn.

PLAY A QUICK ‘MINUTE TO WIN IT’ GAME.

Give each child a wooden craft stick and a small cup of Goldfish crackers. With one end of the craft stick between their lips, see how many crackers they can stack on top of each other without the crackers falling off. The one who stacks the most crackers on their stick wins!

GO ON A SCAVENGER HUNT.

Make a list of 20-30 random items that can be found somewhere in your home. (Examples include: paper clip, colorful sock, pencil, spatula, etc.) Split up and see who can find all of the items on the list first.

PLAY BALLOON TENNIS.

One of the easiest games in the world could be the simple game of “don’t let the balloon touch the ground”. Make it even more exciting with “rackets”  you’ve made out of paper plates with craft stick handles. Let kids take turns hitting the balloon and see how long they can go without letting it touch the ground.

BLOW AWAY THE COMPETITION WITH THIS STRAW RACE GAME.

Using only straws, see who can blow their Goldfish cracker over the finish line first. Or you could make a bullseye target at one side of the table and see who can blow their cracker into the center of the bullseye first.

PLAY RING TOSS.

Cut the middle part out of three paper plates and grab a plastic cup or bottle. Toss the paper rings to see who can get them around the cup or water bottle. To really get the rainy day wiggles out, have each person skip or hop to pick up their rings they’ve thrown before they pass them on to the next person.

HAVE A DANCE OFF.

Turn on some music and dance! See who can last the longest or who has the best dance moves. Let everyone take turns picking the songs and burn some energy while you work up a sweat dancing.

DESIGN AN OBSTACLE COURSE.

Last Spring I shared how to help kids create an obstacle course oudoors (you can see that post here) and it is an activity that could definitely be recreated indoors with some of the same materials. Hula hoops, cones, tunnels or whatever you have on hand can turn into an obstacle course that will keep kids busy for hours. Join in on the fun and go through their obstacle course to see big smiles at the “finish” line!

Whatever you choose to do on a rainy day, you’ll want to make sure that you have snacks on hand. We love Goldfish crackers and always have at least a couple varieties available. On our recent trip to Walmart we bought the Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish® crackers Cheddar 30 oz. Carton and the Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish® crackers Xtra Cheddar 30 oz. Carton. You can find the 30 oz cartons of Goldfish crackers at Walmart stores on rollback for $6.46 in store only. I love being able to save money on our favorite snack! For even more game inspiration, click here!

(PIN IT)

Spring Snack Container Made From Popsicle Sticks

Easter is just around the corner and one of our favorite ways to get ready for any holiday is to make crafts and homemade decorations. I thought it would be fun to make carrot shaped snack containers. They are perfect for parties, family movie nights or any time really!

They are easy and fun to make with the kids. First, you’ll want to gather the materials needed:

  • Popsicle sticks
  • Non-toxic orange paint w/ paintbrush OR orange marker
  • Green Easter grass
  • Piece of cardboard or heavy card stock
  • Non-toxic glue
  • Scissors
  • A snack to put in the container (like Goldfish crackers!)

Directions:

Cut a third of the popsicle sticks in half. (I broke them in half since I couldn’t find the adult scissors but that left sharp edges which you don’t want since kids will be holding this.)

Paint or color two of the long popsicle sticks and one of the half pieces orange and set aside to dry.

Glue 2 popsicle sticks on the cardboard in the shape of a “V” and put 1 half of a popsicle stick across the top to make it a triangle. Continue layering popsicle sticks by gluing them on top of each other until you have a deep enough container to hold your snacks. Glue the orange popsicle sticks on the top as your last layer. Then glue some of the Easter grass on the cardboard near the top of the triangle to make the carrot leaves.

Let the glue dry for a couple hours and then trim the excess cardboard from around the carrot shape.

Once the containers are ready, fill them with a snack. We chose to add our favorite snack, Goldfish crackers, to our carrot container.

Does your family make anything special for holidays or seasons? Get additional inspiration and ideas from Goldfish crackers on Pinterest!

Spring Portraits {Giveaway}

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post but all thoughts are my own.

Pictures are one of my favorite ways to keep memories alive so I’m excited to be working with Portrait Innovations again. We had a great experience at Portrait Innovations during the holidays when we took our family Christmas photos and I really loved how the pictures turned out so we went back last week to get spring pictures taken of the boys.

I liked that the photographer chose a few different backgrounds to photograph the boys in front of. The spring background with the flowers was my favorite because I thought it was perfect for seasonal pictures and made it seem like we had some outdoor shots taken.

One of my favorite things about Portrait Innovations is that the photographers try a lot of different poses so there are a variety of images to choose from. They also take multiple pictures of the same pose which is nice. There’s nothing worse than finding that one shot you love but then you notice that someone’s eyes are closed. With multiple images taken just seconds apart they are more likely to capture your children at the perfect moment, before they look away, make a funny face, or blink.

I also like that while my boys were getting their pictures taken, I never felt like the photographer was rushing through our session. At other studios, that have really short appointment windows, I tend to feel like we are being hurried through so they can get to their next appointment. The photographers at Portrait Innovations make getting great photos a priority, even if it takes a bit longer.

The best part is that beautiful photos of your family can be yours for a great price! Portrait Innovations always seems to have great coupons available.

Portrait Innovations is offering their best spring special ever. The Spring 24 Portrait Package is only $19.99 plus a Free $100 16×20 Canvas with this coupon!

Included in the portrait package is 1-10×13 Wall Portrait, 2-8x10s, 4-5x7s, 4-3x5s, 8-2x3s, and 5-5×7 cards, plus a high resolution CD with your favorite pose. And, you can save 20% on all additional purchases in studio. Portrait Innovations never charges sitting fees so bring the whole family. Appointments are limited so schedule your appointment today!

I’m also thrilled to be able to give away a 6-pose portrait package from Portrait Innovations! Enter via the form below.
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DIY Decorative Jewelry Tray

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #StreakFreeShine #CollectiveBias

Spring is one of the most beautiful seasons. From budding flowers to pretty lace dresses to sparkling pastel colored jewels, beauty is all around us. As the weather starts to warm up and the sun starts shining a bit more, I love being able to admire the new growth of flowers and watch the birds sitting outside my window.

That very first sunny spring day though, when I open up my curtains, I am reminded of the one chore that gets a little neglected during the colder months- cleaning my windows. It’s amazing how dirty they get over the few months we are stuck inside while the sky is gray and the trees are barren. I grab my Windex® Original Glass Cleaner from under my kitchen sink and, as soon as I spray it on my windows, I start to see the dirt fading away. A couple swipes of a paper towel later and my windows are shiny clean and I can see the beautiful spring day through them.

I also like to bring the beauty of spring indoors and I do that by decorating my home with seasonal decor and fresh flowers. To bring a touch of spring into my bedroom I made a decorative jewelry tray to hold some of my favorite pieces. It was easy to make and doesn’t require a lot of materials so I wanted to share the tutorial so you could make your own.

Materials needed:

  • Round tray
  • Glass or mirror a little smaller than your tray
  • Glue or adhesive
  • Beaded necklaces made for craft projects

 Directions:

Put glue/adhesive in the middle of the tray, spreading it out the width of your mirror.

Place the glass or mirror piece in the middle of the tray and gently press it down to adhere it to the tray.

To see how long your string of beads will need to be you can put it along the bottom edge of your tray. You’ll want it long enough to go all around the bottom of your tray but not overlap. I had to tie two beaded necklaces together and then take some beads off the one end because, as you can see in the picture, it was too long.

Use your adhesive/glue to glue your beads onto the tray along the inner bottom edge of the tray. If you still have space between your beads and your mirror/glass, you can glue on a second string of beads.

This tray will get a lot of fingerprint smudges on it but it’s easy to clean with Windex® Original Glass Cleaner.

Windex® Original Glass Cleaner is my favorite product to use on glass because I know that it will always leave my glass surfaces with a streak-free shine. Thanks to its formulation with Ammonia-D®, it starts working on fingerprints, dirt, and other messes even before you wipe. Whether you need to clean the smudges on your bathroom mirror, your windows, or the glass of your jewelry tray, you can trust America’s #1 glass cleaner to get the job done!

I found Windex® Original Glass Cleaner and Windex® Vinegar Multi-Surface Cleaner in the cleaning aisle of my local Food4Less store.

Now you can see the beauty of spring outside (thanks to your clean windows) and inside, sitting on your jewelry tray.

What is your favorite thing about the spring season? Get more spring cleaning ideas here.

Spring Mini Pudding Pies

To celebrate National Pi Day today I wanted to share a super easy, fun snack for kids. This snack doesn’t require any baking and can be put together in just a couple minutes.

Ingredients needed:

  • 1 cup of premade vanilla pudding
  • Food coloring
  • Sprinkles
  • PEEPS
  • Mini pie crust
  • Whipped cream

Directions to make:

  • Add a few drops of food coloring to the vanilla pudding and stir to mix
  • Put vanilla pudding into the mini pie crust
  • Top with whipped cream, sprinkles and a PEEP

How are you celebrating National Pi day?

 Like this recipe? Check out my PEEPS nests featured in the Peeps-A-Licious cookbook.

Be The Snack Mom MVP

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PureLife40pk #CollectiveBias

With spring baseball season just around the corner, I’ve already started planning for what I need to do to have a smooth sports season. From trying on last year’s cleats ahead of time to pulling the bat bag out from it’s winter hibernation in the garage to making sure that I’m stocked up with plenty of water for practices and games- I’m hoping to be more prepared this season than I have been in the past. (So I can avoid an issue like I had last year when I discovered on the first day of fall baseball practice that Jake’s cleats didn’t fit from the spring season that had just ended a few months before!)

My boys play sports year round which means I’m also responsible for team snacks at least once a month or so. That’s just one more thing to think about during our busy spring sports season when I’m balancing the schedules of two baseball teams and a soccer team (along with all of their other activities and school events). This year I decided to buy a small cooler that was the perfect size to hold enough water bottles for the team so that I could have drinks for snack time ready to go.

And because I’m a crazy sports mom I decided to decorate the cooler a bit to show my team spirit :)

Materials needed to decorate the cooler:

  • 1 to 2 cheer bows in the sport of your choice (or thick ribbon in the sport of your choice)
  • Sports themed stickers

Tie the bows on the handle of the cooler and put the stickers on where you’d like to. I used two big cheer bows on the handle, a “baseball” sticker on the front of the cooler, and then put a long scrapbook sticker that looked like the lace of a baseball on the handle of the cooler.

I also personalized the water bottles and had fun sports themed bottles in just minutes.

Materials needed to decorate/personalize the water bottles:

  • Colorful paper
  • Foam sports sticker
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Marker (optional for personalizing)

To decorate the water bottles cut strips of paper about the size of the label on the bottles. Tape the paper on to the bottle and add a foam sports sticker to the front. To personalize the water bottles even more you can write the name or initials of each child on the ball of their label.

I also went to Sam’s Club and bought a 40 pack of Nestlé® Pure Life® Water (available in select Sam’s Club stores, ask your Club Manager about getting Nestlé Pure Life Water in your store if it’s unavailable.). I like that I get 40 bottles for the price of 35! Nestlé Pure Life Water is filtered through a 12-step quality process and enhanced with a unique blend of minerals so it tastes delicious and refreshing.

I keep the cooler stocked with water and bags of snacks in the car so now all I have to do the day I’m snack mom is grab some ice or ice packs, stick them in the cooler and head to the game. The cooler sits near the dugout and I’m ready with cold waters and a snack for the kids when they are done playing their game.

How are you getting ready for spring sports season?

How To Help Your Child Plan And Create An Outdoor Obstacle Course

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GoldfishGameTime #CollectiveBias

After enjoying a “heat wave” in February I feel like warmer weather will be here to stay soon! With this in mind, I wanted to share a fun outdoor activity you can do with your kids this Spring. My boys and I went to Walmart to buy some outdoor toys and Goldfish® crackers (in the Cheddar flavor and the Xtra Cheddar flavor) and then we headed home for a fun afternoon.

Our outdoor activities usually consist of sports (because our children like to fit in practice however they can) but occasionally I like to switch things up a bit. Having taught preschool before Pinterest existed I had to come up with as many ways as possible to keep a classroom of kids busy and an obstacle course was one of their favorite activities. I thought it would be fun to make one with my boys as we spent time together outside.

The first thing you need to do to help your kids create an obstacle course is to gather all of the outdoor play items you have that your kids could use in creating an obstacle course. We used a few hula hoops, a little bowling set, flying discs, a football, cones, relay race batons, chalk and a tunnel. (If you don’t have much or it’s all packed away check out Walmart’s selection of outdoor toys!)

Don’t forget to bring your Goldfish® crackers outside because you know your kids are sure to get hungry while you all are playing. I buy Goldfish® crackers in the bulk boxes and then pour them into individual cups for easy serving outdoors.

After you bring everything you need outside, have the child plan their obstacle course by drawing it out on paper. Having children plan the activity before they set it up helps them develop critical thinking skills.

Jacob’s course involved jumping in hula hoops then going into a tunnel. Out of the tunnel he had put the relay batons down so that people would have to hop over each one. Next was a chalk drawn hopscotch and then a little bowling. After the person knocked all of the pins down he had cones set up and discs available to throw on each cone. The final obstacle was throwing a ball through a hula hoop someone was holding.

Jacob enjoyed drawing out the course he envisioned while Lucas preferred to sit in the shade and eat his favorite snack – Goldfish® crackers! {The Snack That Smiles Back®}

Jacob made sure to eat some of his snack as well before they headed out to the front yard to complete the next step of the process- creation of the obstacle course!

Jacob did great setting up the obstacle course just like he had drawn on his paper.

Lucas, meanwhile, loved being the obstacle course tester.

He also helped by changing around things he thought needed to be fixed :)

After an afternoon full of building their obstacle course and going through it numerous times they enjoyed some more Goldfish® crackers before it was time to head inside.

Have you ever created an obstacle course with your kids? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

How To Make A Nature Journal For Kids {Writing Prompts Included}

Thank you Tampico Beverages for sponsoring this conversation. This post contains affiliate links.

The boys love exploring the outdoors and we are lucky to live near a number of forest preserves. We created some nature journals together and went for a walk on a nearby trail. It was the perfect way to spend a Spring day! Below I’ve shared instructions for making a nature journal.

Materials Needed:

  • Paper- blank and lined
  • Stickers
  • String/Yarn
  • Scissors
  • Paper bag
  • Crayons/Colored Pencil/Markers
  • Pencil
  • 3 Hole Punch
  • Tape

Directions:

  • Gather your materials
  • Use the 3 hole punch to punch holes in your plain paper
  • Cut the bottom of the paper bag off along the fold line
  • Cut the side of the top part of the bag to make a long strip of paper bag
  • Trace a piece of paper onto your paper bag and cut it out. Repeat. (These will be your front and back covers.)
  • Punch holes in the bag to line up with your paper
  • Cut string into 3 inch pieces (you need 3 pieces)
  • Stack papers- One piece of paper bag on top, then lined papers, then blank papers, then a paper bag piece on bottom. Note: If your bag has any text/images on the outside of it you will want to make sure they are not showing when you look at it as a book. The front and back covers should be plain brown.
  • Insert string into holes and tie into a knot
  • Let kids decorate the front and back covers. They can color or put stickers on them as well.
  • Make sure to put a pencil in the pocket so they have something to write with
An additional part to the journal can be a pocket in the front. Here is how to make it:
Here are a number of writing and drawing prompts. I’d suggest putting the list on the first page of their journals. This will help guide them if they aren’t sure what they want to journal about.

Nature Journal Prompts For Kids:

  • Draw something you see
  • Write a story of an animal you see, pretending as if you were that animal
  • Draw a bug you see
  • Describe something you smell
  • Draw a picture of something smaller than you and something bigger than you
  • Describe the sounds you hear- can you identify any of them?
  • Find the prettiest flower
  • Draw a picture of the sky today
  • Find the smoothest rock
  • Draw a picture of the tallest tree you see
  • Find 5 different shaped leaves
  • Draw an animal you see along with the home you think they live in
  • Write about the ground you are walking on using three descriptive words
  • Add leaf rubbings of your favorite leaves
  • Draw a picture of something prickly
  • Write down all the colors that you’ve seen on your walk today

Don’t forget to bring your Tampico juice drink to keep your family hydrated! My boys love the Tropical Punch flavor!

What do you enjoy doing outside during this nicer weather?

Check out these other resouces:

 

30 Fun Outdoor Activities For Kids To Do This Spring

Spring is here and that means warmer weather and more time outside. I’ve rounded up 30 of our favorite activities to do outside in the Spring! The best part is that most can be done in your own backyard for free! Thanks to KEEN footwear for sponsoring this fun activities post and providing us with rain boots and shoes to keep Jake and Luke’s feet dry on Spring’s many rainy days.

SPRING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

  • Go on a nature walk (don’t forget to bring your journal)
  • Practice animal yoga poses
  • Plant flowers
  • Draw on the sidewalk with chalk
  • Blow bubbles
  • Play baseball or soccer
  • Play hopscotch
  • Go on a scavenger hunt
  • Read books outside in the fresh air
  • Visit a new playground
  • Fly a kite
  • Ride a bike or scooter
  • Play a game of “follow the leader”
  • Have a picnic or outdoor tea party
  • Visit a zoo
  • Make and hang a bird feeder
  • Paint rocks to decorate your garden
  • Get a bucket of soapy water and sponge and have a toy wash
  • Play a game of tag
  • Take a family walk around the block
  • Make mud pies
  • Make homemade windchimes together
  • Go on a bug hunt and try to find worms, butterflies, and other bugs around your house
  • Go fishing with your family
  • Have a backyard campout
  • Make a “mess”terpiece fingerpainting with shaving cream or whipped cream
  • Hunt for four leaf clovers
  • Make nature prints
  • Play “I spy”
  • Jump in puddles

Don’t forget to get a good pair of rain boots for the season so your kid’s feet stay dry when they are puddle jumping! We’ve been loving the ones that KEEN sent us. Their Encanto 365 Boot keeps feet dry using a waterproof membrane and water-resistant materials, making it 50% lighter-weight than most heavier boots made with rubber. (That means your kids can actually run and jump and play in them!) Webbing loops make it easy for little kids to pull on the boot themselves and the adjustable bungee closes around the leg so kids can puddle-stomp all they want without water splashing into their boots. A protective toe-cap adds the durability KEEN is known for and the fun mix of colors will look cute paired with any outfit! 

KEEN also sent us a pair of Encanto Sneakers. These are great for little ones who are still working on putting on their own shoes.  The hook and loop strap with bungee laces makes it easy for toddlers to explore their independence, getting shoes on and off “all by myself”. The padded collar, foam footbed and breathable mesh lining show attention to detail and the reinforced toe area is perfect for kids who are rough on their shoes. These shoes go through size 13 so even younger grade school children can wear them. As an Autism parent I love that there are shoes Lucas can put on himself, as a 1st grader, that don’t look like “baby” shoes.

What is your favorite Spring activity?

 

Worry Free Outdoor Fun

This is a product-sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ Wound & Skin Cleanser. The opinions and text are all mine.

Today the temperature outside reached 64 in our Chicago suburb. This is very exciting for everyone, especially for active families that will be thrilled to go hiking and biking and play sports outside in the fresh air. For my family this means it is time for baseball, soccer and the playground. This also means it will be a time full of scrapes, cuts and bug bites. As a parent I know this is unavoidable and I hate to see my boys suffer.

To be truly prepared we always have a bag of a few essentials in our vehicles that can help in an emergency. Some of the best things to have in an emergency kit are an instant ice compress, bandages and band aids, extra mouth guards (for football), snacks and Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™

To keep your team from getting sidelined new Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ Wound and Skin Cleanser, the easy first step in first aid that gently and effectively cleans and hydrates minor wounds, wants you to enter the Play to Win with #TeamPuracynPlus Giveaway for the chance to win a  Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ Emergency Kit, including a $50 gift card to a sporting goods store of your choice and  Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ product. One winner announced each Friday on March 13, 20, and 27. #TeamPuarcynPlus (3 winners total).  It will be the best way to kick start the outdoors activities season.

My kids both play soccer and baseball during which they both get scrapes and usually the scrapes are messy from the field. The easy to use, hands free spray application of  Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ thoroughly cleans minor cuts and wounds, eliminating the need for running water in the critical first moments of cleaning a wound.

I also like Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ because it is doctor tested and recommended for quick wound treatments and is free of alcohol and steroids. It is so safe that it will not bother them even if it accidentally gets in their eyes or ears. A 4oz bottle can be purchased at Rite Aid and Walgreens for $14.00. It is convenient to carry in your car kit so you will always have  Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ in stock for when you really need it.

To learn more about the brand visit www.puracynplus.com and follow the brand on facebook (facebook.com/puracyn) and Pinterest. Another product they have is the Puracyn Plus Foot Wash and Skin Cleanser, a highly effective cleansing solution for healthier feet and wound care. If you or a loved one have diabetes Puracyn Plus Foot wash is essential to help make foot care part of your daily health routine and self care.

We are ready for the warm weather and the outdoors and especially the fun that comes with it. Thanks to Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™  we will be ready for anything that comes our way. So join in the fun and discover fearless life with Puracyn.

To learn more about the Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ , LIKE the brand on Facebook and follow the brand on Pinterest.

This is a product-sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Puracyn® Plus Duo-Care™ Wound & Skin Cleanser. The opinions and text are all mine.


Flower Themed Activities For Kids {HOP}

I’m really excited to be joining in as a host of the Hands-On Play Party with some fabulous bloggers. The linky will be posted each Tuesday. This week I’m sharing some of my favorite colorful sensory activities from bloggers that linked up to last week’s HOP linky.

Flower Math Game from Fun-A-Day

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Bottle Flower Stamp from DabblingMomma

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Paint Chip Color Match from Life With Moore Babies

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Flower Painting from Minne-Mama

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Visit my co-hosts!

Sight Words Egg Hunt from P is for Preschooler

Exploring Mirror Reflections Easter Eggs, Lights & Shiny Objects from Little Bins for Little Hands

Creating the Perfect Egg Drop Project from Lemon Lime Adventures

Sensory Play with Paper Pulp from Stir the Wonder

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Check out our Pinterest board!

HandsOnPinterest

Now it’s your turn! What fun hands-on play activities have you been creating at home? If you are a blogger you can link up your blog posts (no more than 3 please) or, if you don’t have a blog, share your activities on Facebook and leave a link in the comments below. Just looking for activity ideas? You can do that as well by clicking on images linked up below to view the full posts.

(Please note: If you are linking up below you give the hosts permission to use an image with a link back if you are featured in a future HOP post.)



7 Ideas For An Active Spring Break Staycation

Spring break starts today for my kids. One and a half weeks of time off from school. We were thinking about going away for a weekend but decided to skip it and save the money. Should be an interesting time as I work full-time from home along with running this blog. The boys will probably spend plenty of time in front of the tv but I wanted to share some ideas for getting kids (and their parents!) up and off the couch as well. The following is a guest post from Shana Schneider, fitness expert and founder of FITWEEK, a fitness company dedicated to helping women “turn their week into a fit week.”

Play old school games. Remember things like red light/green light, Simon says, duck-duck-goose, musical chairs, or freeze tag? These are lots of fun, and free! Or, for older kids, go to an arcade. See who has the skills for Pac Man or Skee Ball.

Head to the park. Find a list of all the parks in your city and make a plan to visit as many as you can during the break. As part of the fun, pack a picnic. This way, your kids can still run around outside and you’ll all be ready for a nap afterwards. Check out the playgrounds or the trails, and then when home, place stickers on a map of your city identifying each parks and playgrounds you have visited.

Watch a movie marathon. The key here is to make fitness part of the viewing. Here’s how it could work – assign a character to each family member; that person has to get up and sit down, or do some exercise each time the assigned character comes on the screen. It’s pretty funny to see people randomly get up and down throughout the movie. There’ll be some giggles involved, which can get your abs working, too!

Visit a museum. They usually run walking tours and will often have activities for kids. If you’re in the Connecticut area, check out the children’s museums, which are interactive fun for the whole family. And no one has to worry about not touching the exhibits.

Cook in the kitchen, and use that elbow grease. Do something out of the ordinary like making bread or pizza dough from scratch. When getting those ingredients together, remember no electric mixers allowed.

Learn a new sport or activity. Try yoga for the first time together, or take a dance class. If someone in the family is an expert at a particular sport have them teach the others how to play it.

Host an active video game tournament. If you have a video game console, set up your own family tournament and compete in a different sport each day. Need more people involved? Invite the neighbors or other friends over to join you. Choose from – golfing, tennis, boxing, snowboarding, dancing and the list goes on. You can even divide up the groups so you have adults play one game and kids another. The point is you want to pick games that get everyone moving!

 

Spring Fashions From The Children’s Place {Giveaway}

(Disclosure: I received a gift card to shop at The Children’s Place but all thoughts are my own. I featured pictures of my boys in clothes from The Children’s Place long before I started working with them as a blogger and TCP Ambassador.)

The boys are all set for Spring after my recent shopping trip to The Children’s Place! I try to get a couple pieces each Spring that are green because that color, to me, is such a bright, fun color that’s perfect for the season. I had bought some dress shirts around Christmas time that the boys will wear to Church on Easter Sunday but I bought the plaid shirts above for our Easter celebration and egg hunt at my mom’s house. I figured that would be more comfortable while they are running around and playing. I bought some matching plaid shorts for them and they each got a pair of sunglasses since the sun is finally starting to come out around here!

Overall I got 15 items for a little over a hundred dollars and got 2 ‘Place Cash’ certificates to spend next month which will get me $40 off my purchase. At that time I will probably get some more Summer clothes.

Have you gone shopping for clothes yet this season? What are staples in your child’s wardrobe during the Spring?

GIVEAWAY:

One reader will win a $25 gift card to The Children’s Place

HOW TO ENTER:

{Do any or all of the following, leave a separate comment for each you do}

1) Tell me who you’d shop for at The Children’s Place

2) Share this giveaway on a social network

3) Subscribe to this blog via email or RSS

Giveaway ends April 14, 2013 at 11:59pm Central time. US residents, ages 18+ only.

FREE 40-day eBook Devotional

I heard about this ebook devotional from the MOB Society and just had to go check it out. The Seed Company is offering a free 40-day devotional for people to use during Lent. I was unfamiliar with The Seed Company so I poked around their site a bit.

Did you know that nearly 2,000 languages – 300 million people – worldwide still do not have one verse of scripture in their language? I mean, I knew there were some people that didn’t have it, but 300 million? That number is too high. I literally have tears in my eyes right now at the thought of all those people who have never, ever heard the word of God. 300 MILLION.

I knew I had to do something. An obvious way to help is to donate money. Another way to help is by praying. The Seed Company wants prayer partners for the different projects going on throughout the world.

While you are on the site getting your free devotional, I’d ask you to take a look around the site, check out the prayer requests, and, if you feel led to, sign up to pray for this vital ministry.

Gift With Purchase At The Children’s Place {And Spring Fashions}

I love dressing my boys up in cute clothes so I’m really excited to announce that I am a Blogger Ambassador for The Children’s Place! This means I will be sharing great promotions, sales and giveaways with you this year!

With thoughts of shopping for Easter clothes coming up soon I thought I’d go back in time and share some of my favorite Spring looks from there modeled by my children over the past few years :)

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Apparently I love green and blue at Easter and argyle is my go-to look in Spring for the boys :) This last little outfit even had argyle socks with little linen pants. My kids just prefer to wear no clothes in the house apparently.

If you need to go shopping for some new clothes, The Children’s Place has some great promotions right now. The monster sale I talked about weeks ago is still going on–prices are up to 80% off! They have a Spring sale and a Valentine’s Day sale going on as well. {I love a good sale!}

One new promotion is a special gift with purchase. From today, January 22nd , to January 31st (while supplies last) if you make an in-store purchase of $75 or more you will get a free plush Bunny. How cute would this little bunny be in your child’s Easter basket?

(Disclosure: As an Ambassador I receive promotional items from The Children’s Place. All thoughts are my own.)

 

Spring Clean Your Digital Life

Every Spring people talk about spring cleaning their homes. The purging of unused items, organizing, and deep cleaning of the house is a great way to start this new season but what about tidying up the things others don’t see? Things like your email inbox, your computer’s storage files, and your online security measures?

As a family in Trend Micro’s Digital Joneses, our challenge of the month was to spring clean our digital life. I didn’t know where to start. With thousands of pictures stored online, even more unread emails in my inbox, and so many files with contents that are a mystery to me I was overwhelmed. Thankfully, Trend Micro has created a digital spring cleaning checklist. Being an avid to-do list maker and checklist lover this made me very excited :)

The first task that I wanted to do was to clean out my inbox. I have over 9,000 emails in my inbox folder and over 3500 of those haven’t been opened. I have been trying to go through it and either delete or sort emails but it’s a daunting task. Looking over the checklist I saw a few more things I wanted to do when it came to my inbox. One suggestion from Trend Micro was to delete the attachments from my emails. Another task on the list was to delete any emails that had password or account information. It’s a great way to keep would be hackers from getting confidential information.

The next step was to go through my web browser history. This is something that I have never done before. The checklist also suggested that I go through my bookmarks and delete ones I don’t need anymore. This wasn’t too hard since I don’t really use bookmarks that often.

After this I needed to sort through my documents. The checklist suggested sorting them into three categories- delete {documents we don’t need}, confidential {documents that need to be secured with a password}, and important {documents that should be backed up}. I had a lot of old documents that I didn’t need anymore so I was able to delete them. I only had a couple things that were confidential. Most of my documents are just things I wanted to keep {like pictures} so I need to back them up. That is still not crossed off on my list. Programs that are unused need to be deleted, too but I didn’t have any programs to delete since I only download what I need.

The next steps include running scans on the computer. I used to do this often since I’m used to my computers running slow and I have found that running troubleshooting and maintenance scans make it run faster. My new computer is running fine so I skipped this step.

One of the last steps is to make sure your digital life is secure by changing your passwords. It’s recommended that passwords be changed at least every three months. This is something that I often forget to do on a regular basis but probably one of the most important steps in this whole process. Trouble remembering multiple logins and passwords? Trend Micro has a product that will manage website passwords and login IDs in one secure location so you only have to remember one password!

Once your digital life is clean and your house is clean, imagine how amazing you will feel! Find out more about the Digital Joneses here.

(Disclosure: I am receiving technology and software as a member of the Digital Joneses blogger study but all thoughts are my own.)

Fun & Easy Rainbow Activity

Daddy is not a fan of crafts but enjoyed this one!

I wanted to do a quick St. Patrick’s Day themed craft with the boys so I thought of making fruit loop rainbows with them. Having seen these all over the web I knew that there were probably printables online that we could use. I came across a great one over at Making Learning Fun that had pre-printed circles for the fruit loops. This was great because it worked on one to one correspondence which is a skill both boys are still learning. They both didn’t want to make a correctly colored rainbow so I let them do it any way they wanted.

Also, just a note: Make sure your box of cereal is all “O”s. The box we got had “8” shaped red cereal instead of the typical circle shape.

Here’s how they turned out:

Here's my 2 year old's rainbow. He got a little carried away with the fruit loops. lol

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Here's my 3 year old's rainbow. Though he enjoyed the activity, he has a short attention span and didn't want to finish it.

Ten Spring Recipes I Can’t Wait To Try

(Click on a picture to be taken to the recipe page. This post is linked to Top 10 Tuesday at OhAmanda.)

Spring Omelet

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Spring Veggie Pizza

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Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Asparagus with Peanut Dipping Sauce

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Strawberry Mint Spring Rolls

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Tomato Feta Salad

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Moroccan Chicken Kebobs

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Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Stuffed Artichokes

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Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Icing

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Roast Side of Salmon with Mustard, Tarragon, and Chive Sauce

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And as a special treat…

 

My mom's lemon bars

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ENJOY! If you make one of these recipes I’d love to hear what you thought about it!

Top Ten Tuesday- Looking Forward To Spring

Today I walked outside and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too cold out… it  made me think about Spring and all the things I had to look forward to. I can’t wait for:

1) Warmer weather- Having to bundle up the kids to go outside is no fun. I can’t wait until a light jacket is all they need.

2) A lower gas bill!

3) Family walks- We moved to a new neighborhood this winter so I can’t wait to walk around and explore with the boys.

4) Opening the windows and letting the fresh air in

5) Starting a garden- Now that we have some outdoor space of our own I can’t wait to start a mini-garden with the boys. (Anyone have any suggestions on easy to care for plants?)

 

Can't wait for the boys to use their new gardening tools

 

6) Planning the boys’ birthday party- Jake turns 3 and Luke turns 2 in June so I need to start planning their birthday party in the next couple months.

7) Easter- I checked my calendar and it seems Easter will be later than usual this year. I can’t wait to dress the boys in matching outfits, tell them the Easter story, and go hunting for eggs.

8) Short sleeve shirts- Jacob chews on his sleeves when he wears long sleeve shirts and I have to constantly put new ones on him because he chews them so much and then says they are “icky”. It will be nice to be able to put him in short sleeves because then he can’t chew on the ends of them!

9) Getting outside to play- We have only played outside twice since we moved so it will be fun to play in the backyard.

10) No more snow! (ok, a girl can wish right?)

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I have linked up this post to Oh Amanda’s Top 10 Tuesday