Halloween Pumpkin Carving Stencils

Halloween Pumpkin Carving Stencils - Parenting.com

I love Parenting magazine.  Here are some stencils to help you make the perfect Pumpkin Jack!

Fisher Price Fun

Goodness me!  Haven't been posting much because I've been so anxious over Julian's birthday party this weekend. It was a modest success and Julian had a great time so I'm super happy.  Anyway, now that that's done with I can focus on other things.

I thought I'd write today about the Fisher-Price website and all the cool (and more importantly, FREE) features they have for parents.  I don't know about you, but I was definitely a Fisher-Price kid growing up--so naturally it's a brand I trust for Julian.

I started going on the website a few months ago to play some of the online games they have for babies when Juju first started mashing my laptop keys.  On a recent visit though, I found they have A LOT of really cool stuff for parents!

You can check out the site yourself to see all they have to offer, but I'm going to list my favorite sections here:

Online Games
Here you'll find a bunch of cool games for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.  I really like these because I do a lot of work on my computer and when I'm home alone with Julian he often wants to get on the computer and do things with me.  I haven't tried out the toddler or preschooler games yet, but the infant ones are perfect for babies who want to be just like Mommy and Daddy!  Watch out though, because if they hit certain commands on your keyboard they can shut out of the game and start messing with other things.  Try and make sure the babes are just playing with the main keys.

Julian's favorite games are the Hide and Seek games and any of the animal games--the noisier the better!


Crafts
This is actually the page that got me excited about writing a post on this website because it's SO what this blog is about!  Here's a list of cool art projects and activities you can do with your kids at little or no cost (they even have a fishing activity like the one I wrote about!).  I'm so excited to try some of these out (and put my own spin on them too haha).  Any of these activities would be great for a boring weekend or rainy day. 

I tried to pick out a couple favorites to list here, but honestly I love them all!

Birthday Party Ideas
I'm a little peeved I checked this out the day after I have Julian's birthday party (especially since they have a dinosaur theme and that's what I really wanted to do grrrr), but I will know better in the future. :P 

Anyway, they have lots of great tips and tricks for parents on holding a successful and fun birthday party.  They also have several party theme ideas that include food suggestions and decorating and activity ideas.  All the party ideas function on a reasonable budget and seem to be real low-stress which, given the anxiety I went trough over Juju's birthday party, is definitely an awesome thing!

Playtime Guide
This section focuses on the importance of play and how different activities help baby develop cognitive, social & emotional, and physical skills.  They even have sections devoted to baby's specific age, from 1 month to 5+ years.  In addition to great tips on different ways to play with your baby they have a section for parents that focuses on everything from pregnancy worries to potty training.  This is great for nervous first time parents!  There's a section dedicated solely to grandparents as well.  This is a really valuable resource if you're getting tired of playing peek-a-boo and want to try something fresh and new. 


There are also coloring pages, online videos, and of course plenty of info on fisher-price's toys and stuff.  So if you're bored and trying to think of something new to do with the little ones take a look!

Re-purpose Those Jars!

Here's another highlight of an article I did over on HubPages!

10 Creative Ways to Use a Jar

I love peanut butter and jelly.  That seems like a random fact, but stay with me for a moment.  I love peanut butter and jelly--so, I find myself with a lot of used jars!  If I was wasteful (like a certain hubby I know, ahem) I would just throw them away--but I can't do that.  Throwing away glass, honestly, breaks my heart--especially since some jelly jars are really pretty!

So, I could use them for the basic things...store my spaghetti sauce, stick pens in them, use them as cups, put little odds and ends in them.  Essentially, just use them to store things other than peanut butter or jelly.  

But that wasn't good enough for me!  So I explored OTHER ways I could use jars--and came across some really fun projects:

- snowglobes

- mini gardens

- lanterns

- candles

- and more!!  Check it out!

My next mission is to find projects specifically relating to baby food jars since I have a lot of those laying around! D:

Strange & Different Ways to Pot Plants

So I'm a writer over on HubPages.  It's against the rules for me to publish things in two different places there (although I still kinda do anyway--just a little bit, the rule is really to stop plagiarism--but if I wrote it why is it so wrong? D:).  Anyway, this is something I wrote an article on that I think would be really cool for parents looking for something fun and cool to do.

Unusual Planters

In this article I highlight a few cool and different ways you can pot plants at home.

Some highlights would be:

- Planting in jars

- Using eggshells

- Using bottle caps

- Repurposing crocs 

There are a few others too and most would be really fun projects to do with kids, I'd say around 4 and up.  All of these ideas are are pretty basic too, so there are plenty of ways you can be creative and customize your projects!

Happy planting!

Magnet Fishing

Here is a fun activity you can do with kids of varying ages (I'd say anywhere from babies to preteens, after that you might be pushing your luck).

Magnet Fishing!

This is actually an idea I got from watching Little Bill on Nick Jr. with Julian.  My husband and I are in the process of bringing in new furniture and rearranging our house so I haven't been able to try it out myself.  So, when I get around to doing this with Juju I'll be sure to share some pictures of our fun.  Or at least draw some pictures haha.

So here's what you'll need:

- A box or a fishbowl or some kind of container to act as a the fishing spot, it can be clear if you want to see the fish inside--or it can be opaque if you want it to be a surprise (for a surprise I'd say make sure there's lots of things to catch in there so you'll actually get something.

- Construction paper or colorful card stock for the fishes.

- Sticks and string for rods

- Magnets--you can take the magnets off of old magnets you don't use anymore or you can cut up those flat free magnets restaurants hand out with their menus on or you get a free events.  That's what I'll be using.  Make sure these magnets are strong enough to stick together though because sometimes they're kind of weak.  If all else fails you can buy magnet backs at office supply and craft stores.

- (optional) metal paperclips as an alternative to using magnets for either fish or hook (but not both)

- Glue

- Tape

- Scissors

- Markers, crayons, glitter, and whatever else you want to use for decorating.

- (optional) sand or marbles to put at bottom of tank

And here's what you do:

Rods

- Tie string around end of stick.

- Cut out a hook shape from two pieces of construction paper.
- Glue hook pieces on either side of the string so it is stuck in the middle
- Glue magnet piece on hook.

OR

- Tape, glue, or tie on piece of magnet (maybe cut in the shape of a hook) at the end of the string.

OR

- Tie a paperclip to the end of the string (do this only if you're using magnets for the fish--and if they're STRONG)

Fish tank

- (optional) Decorate the outside of your tank to look like an underwater or beach scene.
- (optional) Put sand or marbles in tank and maybe a figurine or two to decorate.


When everything is done, have fun fishing!

Fish

I added pigtails to my mermaid but you can cut out any hairstyle you like.

Here are some templates I made that you can print out and use to cut out your fish.  I also made one for a mermaid and octopus.  Feel free to use these templates for any under-the-sea projects!  You may alter and share these to your liking (please keep my link though or at least link back), but you may not sell these templates!  You can, however, sell whatever you make.  Fair? :)

- Cut out fish shapes (for some more fun add in an octopus or mermaid or two)
- Decorate
- Glue magnets on the mouths of the fish.

OR

- If you're using really strong magnets you can glue the magnets on the inside of two pieces of paper so the magnets won't be seen.

OR

- If you have a strong magnet hook clip paperclips on to the mouths of the fish either by just sliding them on or punching a whole and looping the paperclip on.

Please check out my hub for tips on how to make this game more fun.

The small things in life...

A big pot of water with some floaty toys can keep Julian occupied for quite sometime. AND it's heavy enough that he can't tip it over (like our dog's bowl =_=)