Summer Schedule

Today is the last day of school and I've been getting a little nervous about what to do with the kids this summer.  I already made a Summer Bucket List, but what do I do with them on a daily, hourly basis?  Schedules always work well for my family.  I am, by nature, an organized and routine person, so I find comfort in schedules.  I understand that some moms are more care-free and schedules freak them out, but I'm the opposite, not having a plan freaks me out! LOL!  

My children do very well with schedules and it avoids a lot of boredom and complaining because they already know what's coming next.  So here is what I came up for our summer schedule.  I have twin 4 year old boys so I did them in pictures too so they could understand what's next.  I cut these out, laminate them and then post them on the wall in order.  My kids love running to find out what's next on the schedule!  

Here's what I came up with:

First of all my kids are not allowed to come down to breakfast until their room is clean.  Best idea ever for our family!

TV time: my kids are not allowed to watch any show where the kids in it are older than they are (with the exception of Imagination Movers, Wiggles, ect.).  But I also go to Common Sense Media to look up shows and find out what is age appropriate.  But mostly we keep the TV on Nick Jr. or Disney Jr.  Otherwise it's Netflix shows which I have programmed to only show them "G" rated shows.

Chores: They each have chores they have to do every day.  They get a penny for each chore :).  My kids are ages 4-7 so I think that's appropriate.  They can earn extra $ for going above and beyond.

Laundry is a huge chore in this house of 6 people.  I wash and dry the clothes, they sort, fold (to the best of their ability) and put away (with me monitoring right now).  The goal is by the end of the summer for them not to need me to monitor any longer.

During "pool time", if it's a rainy day or we just don't feel like going, that's when we do something off the summer bucket list or run errands, ect.  But you have to understand that I don't really run errands with 4 little kids, LOL!  Almost all of my errands/grocery shopping is done on the weekends when the hubby's home so I can maintain some sort of sanity! :)

So despite it being summer, I do want them to continue to stay sharp with what they have already learned in school...plus I want more time for myself so I can get my chores done.  So school work it is!  They do reading, some Summer Fit Workbook Worksheets, journaling or coloring (for writing) and then they switch between my favorite online learning program and educational DVD's.

Outside or bedroom time is mostly for them to have some independent/alone play time.  This, I find, is necessary for my introvert children as well as just to force them to expand their imagination.

Hope that gives you some ideas to do with your kids this summer.  Good luck! :)

To download them all, click here: Summer Schedule

Last Day of School Shirt

Tomorrow is the last day of school and I wanted the kids to make fun shirts to wear.  I got the tanks from Walmart for $3.00 each.  I already had the  neon paint, but I think they cost $.99 each.  I used 5 colors.

Basically I just wrote what I wanted to say, leaving room for their hand prints.  (I went with the "Calvin and Hobbes" font as my inspiration:  Calvin and Hobbes Font .

I wrote it the night before so it would be dry by morning and their hand prints wouldn't smear the writing, I've learned that the hard way.

I used a sponge brush to paint each hand one at a time and then place.  The kids picked the colors they wanted.

So here are the girls:

 And here are the boy's:

Now we're even more excited for the last day of school!! :)

DIY Felt Pennant Banner No Sew

The last day of school is on Monday and I wanted to make a pennant banner that I could use to decorate with outside.  And I thought since I was going through the trouble, then I wanted to make one I could use over and over again but was inexpensive.  Scrapbook paper has great selections of colors and patterns, but it's not that durable.  Fabric is great but most likely I would have had to sew.  So I felt that FELT was a great choice for this and here's the final product!

So I bought 12 pieces of felt (size 9x12) for $.29 each at Michaels.  This banner cost me $3.28!  I already had orange ribbon (a 30 foot 1/2 inch wide ribbon that cost me $2.67 at one point).  And I already had a glue gun and sticks.  This project took me about 1 hour to cut it all out and hot glue together.

Start by folding your felt in half and use a white piece of chalk or crayon to mark the 1/2 way point.

Then fold each side in to get the other 2 lines.  Mark them.

See where to mark them? 

Then you make your first cut from the top corner down to the first white line.

Then you just keep making diagonal cut to make 3 nice triangles.  The 2 pieces on the ends are just scrap materials now. 

 Then I laid each piece out (in rainbow order) and used a memory stick (2" long) to measure quickly between each pieces while I hot glued the felt to the ribbon.

  

It ended up making a 24' banner for $3.28 and 1 hour of my day!  I'm so happy I can reuse this over and over again!  I love primary colors for parties and this will work perfectly for our "Beginning of Summer" party!

Charlotte Summer Bucket List

So the summer is here!  And a lot of parents get stressed out about what to do with their kids this summer.  I love making a bucket list!!!  My kids think it's awesome and love checking off the things we do.  I always make them pretty exhausted, so that we never run out of ideas; but the idea isn't to stress to do them all, the idea is that there are plenty of IDEAS! :)

There are plenty of summer bucket lists on pinterest, but I wanted to make one specific to the Charlotte area that we live in.  So here it is...custom to our area!  Hope you enjoy!

You can also download it by clicking on the following link: Charlotte Summer Bucket List

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Easter Ideas & Checklist

Easter is only 2 weeks away and are you prepared?  Since Easter is a date that moves each year, sometimes it catches me by surprise   That's why I love a checklist!  Here is what I do for Easter each year, give or take a few.  It's just so nice to have it all written down with photos so I can quickly prepare for a magical morning!  Happy Easter!

Easter Ideas & Checklist Download

Dying Easter Eggs....a station for each kid!

The night before the doorbell rings with a fun surprise of magical jelly beans!  We quickly plant them! :)

The next morning they wake up to breakfast and this clue!

Breakfast...an egg ham basket :)

Then off to check our magic jelly beans....lollipop flowers grew!

And the scavenger hunt begins!

They find their baskets!

A fun Easter lunch.

Our Easter Clothes!

Last year I forgot to take a photo of our food, so here is one that's similar.  I always love ham on Easter!

I make a carrot cake from scratch every year and it's so delicious!

Carrot Cake Recipe

 Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour 

Ready In: 2 Hours

Yields: 18 servings

 INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

·         4 eggs

·         3/4 cup canola oil

·         1/2 cup applesauce

·         1 cup white sugar

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         3 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         2 teaspoons baking soda

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg

·         3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

·         3 cups grated carrots (use food processor)

·         1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple (drained)

·         1/2 cup chopped pecans

Icing:

·         1/2 cup butter (one stick), softened

·         8 ounces cream cheese, softened

·         4 cups confectioners' sugar

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. (or use spray Pam)

2.    In a large bowl (or mixer), beat together eggs, oil, applesauce, sugars and 3 teaspoons vanilla.

3.    Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

4.    Stir in carrots and pineapple.

5.    Fold in pecans.

6.    Pour into prepared pan.

7.    Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

8.    Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

  

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

SCAVENGER HUNT

If you are interested in doing a scavenger hunt for your kids Easter morning (to find their baskets), here is one that I made for my kids.  Click on the link for the whole set.

Easter Scavenger Hunt for Easter Morning

Lastly, a girlfriend of mine makes these confetti eggs (cascarones in the Mexican culture) each year which are a huge hit!  I will be trying these soon!  Here's how: Making Confetti Eggs

St. Patrick's Day Checklist & Ideas

St. Patrick's Day Checklist & Ideas

I am part Irish and love St. Patrick's Day (even if I wasn't).  We like to use "Lucky" the Leprechaun to create mischief on this day, similar to The Elf on the Shelf.  He pees green in the toilet, changes the milk green and leave the kids pots of gold (rolos)!  But more than anything, I love going to the local St. Patrick's Day parade!  It's so festive and the weather is always great!  

Have a wonderful St. Patty's Day celebrating a Roman-British guy who was enslaved by some Irish men and then went back to teach them about Christianity! So festive when you put it that way! :)

St. Patrick's Day Downloadable File

Groundhog Day

I don't know why I love Groundhog Day so much?  Maybe it's the anticipation of spring arriving?  Maybe that it's the underdog of holidays and I aim to show my support?  Either way, it's a fun and under-celebrated holiday that I love!  Here's how we celebrate this groundhog, woodchuck, whistling pig! :)

Groundhog Day Breakfast!

Groundhog Day Lunch!

Wood"chuck" cheeseburger

Groundhog Day Afternoon Snack!

Groundhog Day Meatloaf!

Ground "chuck" meat (or you can cheat and do turkey meat like I do)

Groundhog Day Dessert!

Using Almond Bars, add white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips & some pink icing to make groundhog.  Then just dye the coconut green and put on cupcakes.  Easy and delicious!

Valentine's Day Ideas & Checklist

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and, if you're like me, there's lots to do to prepare! :)  Mostly because I like to make our kids Valentine's Day cards for their classmates (they are still too young to make them themselves).  I also like to decorate my house as well as make V-Day Baskets for them (like an Easter basket).  So I always begin to prepare about 3 weeks ahead of time to make sure I have plenty of time to get it all done.  Here's my checklist!  Enjoy!

To download the file, please click here: Valentine's Day Ideas & Checklist

Groundhog Day Ideas & Checklist

Groundhog Day is coming up on Feb. 2, 2013.  Here are some fun ways that I celebrate with my kids!  My favorite is the groundhog meatloaf!  It's a bit scary and yet hilarious at the same time!  My kids love it!

To download this file, click here: Groundhog Day Ideas & Checklist

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs. birthday is coming up on Jan. 21st.  So I came up with some ways to honor his memory and teach my children more about his great accomplishments.  Hope you are inspired to celebrate his life with us!

To download this document, click here: Martin Luther King Jr. Ideas & Checklist

New Year's Eve Checklist

Today is New Year's Eve, so I thought I'd share my checklist with you all of what we try to accomplish for this holiday.  I don't have to do all of this, but it's fun to pick and choose what we want to do on this last day of the year!  Hope it inspires you to make some fun traditions with your family!

You can download the checklist along with lyrics to Auld Lang Syne here:

New Year's Eve Checklist

Elf on the Shelf

And so begins our journey with our first year with our Elf on the Shelf!

So the day after Christmas we go get our Christmas Tree.  This particular year we went to a local farm and cut down our tree.  When we got home and cut the cords around the tree, this is what fell out....

...our Elf, along with a birds nest! :)

So we spent the day putting up all our Christmas decorations while "Elfie" watched.

So I like to coordinate my Elf on the Shelf mornings with our Advent Calendar.  Instead of candy in each bag, there's an activity for the day.  I made the rag garland myself.

Where to buy the Advent Calendar

 This morning Elfie was caught watching his movie and reading letters from the kids.

Elfie was in the freezer with a letter from the kids and a Snow Globe gift!

Today he was caught playing on the computer and had made a video of the kids!  

Elf Yourself Videos 

Today was the day before my daughter's birthday and we were going to spray paint the school rock.

Today was my daughter's birthday, so Elf had all the birthday books out.

Elfie was caught having story time with the other toys.

Today we were going to our school's Polar Express Winter Festival, so Elfie was riding on the train.

Today was my daughter's "Jump For Joy" birthday party at an indoor trampoline center.  So Elfie was bungie jumping from the ceiling fan.

Another day Elfie was holding my video camera and took a video of himself walking around the house!

Then they got an email video from Santa saying they were on the nice list!

Link to Santa's videos from the portable north pole!

Where's Elfie?

The infamous flour snow angel! 

Elfie was trying to help put away toilet paper, he fell down the stairs.

Elfie caught taking a marshmallow bath. 

So we took a bubble bath ourselves and made Santa beards.

 Today we were going to see Santa!

Elfie was writing his letter to Santa, so we wrote ours! 

From my oldest daughter...

I have the template for this letter on my blog.

Today Elfie suggested that the kids help me clean!  Love that Elf!

Today we decorated our Gingerbread Castle! 

Cousins came over to help!

I did make Gingersnap cookies to fill the air with yummie goodness! :)

Elfie suggested we call the grandparents and sing Jingle Bells! 

This morning Elfie replaced their stockings with their underwear! 

Today we make Christmas cookies for our neighbors! 

And yes, the kids decorate them which is a HUGE MESS!!!!

 Today Elfie suggested we go look at Christmas lights!

We fill our cups with hot chocolate & bring a cookie!

 Looking at lights with our cousins...in McAdenville!

Elfie was found in the Advent Calendar!

Today Elfie made them Snowman Poop to take to school for the Mystery Reader!

So we had to have Snowman cinnamon buns for breakfast!

 Today Elfie suggested we donate toys!

Elfie is suggesting we wrap presents today!

Elfie is thinking we could make holiday treats for our classmates!

Today was the first day of Winter Break from school, Elfie gave them PJ's for a full Pajama Day!  Winter Break Poem on my blog.

Today was the First day of Winter, Elfie left a poem (on my blog), ear muffs, Jack Frost movie and a SnowBall Fight! 

I also made these winter inspired cookies!

Elfie painted their noses when they were asleep and left them the Rudolph & Prancer movie along with some Rudolph Noses to eat (cherries).

 Rudolph Pancakes for breakfast of course! :)

Elfie has to go pooh sometimes, of course he poohs Peppermint Pooh! :)

Christmas Eve!  Elfie left them some Magic Sleeping Potion (on my blog) and their Christmas PJ's and Socks.

 In honor of Elfie leaving, we gave him a little suit case and a mini mug to drink his Sleeping Potion out of!

Christmas morning...Elfie left each of the kids their own plush Elf doll in their stockings.  We hang them on our bed to ease into Christmas morning in our room.

He also left them a goodbye letter and each of them a Christmas movie. 

Lastly, our first daughter, Monroe, who passed away at birth, gets them a new ornament every year.  It's my way of including her in our traditions and always remember her life.  This year she got them each their own Elf on the Shelf ornament!

So those are my Elf on the Shelf photos.  Hope you are inspired to do some fun stuff with your kids to make their Christmas Season even more magical!