Thanksgiving Tree

As the holidays are quickly approaching I have begun searching for the perfect holiday traditions.   

This has become no small feat.  I am looking for something that is unique, that will teach the meaning of the holiday, and that breaks away from the American "Norm" and focuses on our family values.

In my search I found several variations of "Thanksgiving Trees".   I loved this idea for several reasons, one being that Sam can participate!

We started off with a tree trunk cut from construction paper and then started cutting leaves from different colors of construction paper.  On the leaves we wrote things we are thankful for during this season.  Sam helped by coloring a few of the leaves.  We added leaves for about a week, as we thought of things to be thankful for.  

Here is what we ended up with:

It is on the mirrors by our front door.  Maybe this will set the scene of thankfulness as our family comes to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday!

Some of the things we are especially thankful for this year:

Jobs, Family Time, Sam's giggles, Indoor plumbing, Warm house, Hot coffee, Health, Family to spend the holidays with, Full pantry, Healthy relationships and the ability to give.

In our efforts to bring more scripture into our home, we added a bible verse, which you will see on the right side of the tree.  I have been studying Colossians this month and have really been challenged with things I take for granted, and living a life of thankfulness.  It is amazing how your perspective changes when you search for something to be thankful for in every situation.  I love that as I pass the tree each morning I am reminded of the scripture God gave us and to be thankful throughout the day.  

I hope this inspires you to get creative and to live a life of thankfulness!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Rainy Day Activity Series, Part 3

Activity for today...Finger-painting. 

I know, I know.  You all think I am crazy.  But read on cause I found a way to do it with no paint and no mess!

Materials:

Hand soap

Hard surface (we use the coffee table)

Squirt some soap on the table and let the kiddos go to town moving it around and creating their "art".  Yes it is that easy!

Sam loves art, however most of the time his art creates more of a mess then I have the time or patience to clean up.  With this activity I don't have to worry about Sam getting paint everywhere and he thinks it is so much fun!!!  Another benefit is the coffee table is always shiny!

Rainy day Activity Series, 2

Awesome activity and incredibly easy to set up.

Spoons and Tongs

Materials:

2 shallow bowls

Large serving spoon

Kitchen Tongs

Small toys or Marshmallows

Set bowls side by side on table, fill one bowl with small toys or marshmallows (we use finger puppets that we got from IKEA.)  Use serving spoon to scoop up the toys and transfer them to the other bowl.

When Sam gets restless with this we put the spoon away and use tongs to do the same thing. When he gets restless with the tongs we bring the spoon back out and make “soup” and pretend to eat it.  This keeps Sam entertained for about 20 minutes.  Not only does this keep him busy but I have noticed a huge increase in his motor skills and he is finally attempting to use a spoon while eating!

This is a great activity to use when you need to keep the kiddo entertained while you clean or get stuff done around the house.  The worse they can do is use the bowls and spoons as drums.  A little noise never hurt anybody right?

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin Spice Latte

(this makes about 16 ounces, so enjoy it on an evening alone or double it!)

1 cup milk

1 rounded tablespoon of pumpkin pie filling

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

½ cup coffee

Combine milk, pie filling and vanilla in a small sauce pot. Warm over medium heat while stirring with a whisk. The harder you stir the more air that will be incorporated into the milk. You want the milk nice and foamy. When milk begins steaming add coffee, warm until it is just how you like it. (I like my coffee tepid so I mixed in coffee and then moved it to cup.) Pour into cup. Top with whip cream and some pumpkin pie spice (I didn't have whip cream and couldn't wait, don't worry it still tastes incredible). This took about 2 minutes to do. I have waited much longer in line at Starbucks or Dutch Bros.

Another bonus? This is less fat and sugar then the creamer we normally use. AND I bought organic pumpkin pie filling which consists of pumpkin puree and spices. No fillers, unnecessary sugars, or ingredients we can't pronounce.  

I have pumpkin puree in the freezer that I made a while back, I will let post the variation of using this instead of the pie filling soon.

Rainy Day Activity Series, 1

I have a very busy son. He has always been busy. Even as an infant, if he was awake he wanted to be entertained or moving. His energy/craziness level has only increased since becoming a toddler. I contribute a lot of this to being a boy and Ryan being his dad.

With the weather changing and running outside not being an option every day, we have had to get very creative with activities to keep him busy and help focus some of his energy.  A few weeks ago Ryan and I decided to take 20-30 minutes of our individual time with him as "school time".  During this time we do 1 fun learning activity, 1 active play activity and then read some books.

We have found that giving Sam this focused time has helped a lot.  We don't feel like we are always saying "No" or chasing after him as he finds new things he shouldn't get into.  Basically gives us a time set aside each day to enjoy some shared experiences while we are cooped up in the house this winter.

I am going to post some of the activities throughout the next couple of weeks.  I hope this helps give you some ideas to keep your kiddos busy and your family sane this winter.  

Here is the activity for today:

Materials:

1lb dried beans

A few bowls, tupperware or pots

Misc. kitchen utensils

We emptied the beans into 1 bowl.  Let Sam play and explore with the beans.  The learning part of this was showing him how to "measure" the beans with some measuring cups or showing him how to scoop them up with a spoon and transfer them to another bowl.  We also had fun "burying" things in the beans.  The beans kept him busy for almost 25 minutes and then he helped me pick them up and put them away (in a gallon ziploc bag).  Once they were picked up and the bag was zipped he played with the bag and beans for another 5 minutes.  Sam had so much fun with this activity.  The bag is now labeled "Sam's beans" and put away for more fun later.  

The hardest part of this activity was Sam LOVES to snack on boiled beans so he was constantly trying to eat the dried beans.  Towards the end he was catching on that the beans were for playing not eating.

Baby Wipes

Buying Organically

As I have mentioned before, it is important to me to provide my family with safe, healthy meals.  Many times this means buying organically.  However, sometimes our budget does not allow for me to buy completely organically.  This is where the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15" come in.

Each is a list of fruits and veggies.  The "Dirty Dozen" being those which you should avoid or only buy organically and the "Clean 15" being those which are OK to buy non-organic.  

The USDA and FDA test the levels of pesticides and other chemicals in the fruits and veggies.  The lists are published each year by the Environmental Working Group to help consumers interpret the data gathered by the USDA and the FDA.

Here is the flyer published by the Environmental Working Group, complete with a wallet sized copy of both lists.

http://www.foodnews.org/sneak/EWG-shoppers-guide.pdf

I hope this not only provides your family with safe, healthy meals but maybe lower your grocery budget too!

Re-Usable Wipes

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent