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!

Happy Birthday, Julian!

My son turned 1 yesterday, I really can't believe it!  He's growing up so fast!  He's on his feet now, moving around like a fast little drunk--haha!  I never knew babies could have such personalities, but he sure does.  He gets annoyed or sad when he is scolded, he laughs when he does daredevil acts like rolling off the bed or couch, he loves animals, he loves sharing his food, he especially loves sharing his food with animals.  Overall, he's a cool kid and I freaking adore him. <3

No one makes me happier than my Juju.  Happy Birthday, my sweet little baby!

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!

Flower Pot Pens

Source: Do It Yourself Gifts

Here's a really cute and cool project I came across when I went to my OB/GYN today--flower pot pens!  I never noticed, but on all the reception desks at my clinic there is a vase with fake flowers in it--these are actually PENS!  How pretty!  Little flower vases are definitely more attractive then a mug full of pens (and flower pens are probably a lot harder to swipe too haha).  My clinic is all about visual aesthetics so it's no surprise that they even try to make something as mundane as a pen to sign in look more beautiful. 

Anyway, after I left I wanted to do this on my own, so I looked up "flower vase pens" on Google and found this really helpful tutorial!  Check it out! It has picture instructions to make it easier, but the process is pretty simple.

All you need is pens, floral tape, fake flowers, and a vase or something to put them in (that's the part you can really get creative).

They do a real good job at explaining so here are some alternative/additional ideas that I had:
- Don't stop at just a few flowers, make a whole beautiful bouquet with feathers, swirly sticks, glitter twigs, or whatever florists call those things.
- Use your floral pens as a way to bring colour into a room or dress up your desk.  Use complimentary colours.  Have blue walls?  Use orange or yellow flowers.  Have white walls? Use bold colours!  Dark room?  Use bright colours!
- Try using the realistic silk flowers to make it look like you always have fresh flowers (some silk flowers look sooo real, I actually had a silk flower bouquet for my wedding so I could keep it forever <3)
- Add a fairy pen, butterfly, or some sort of bug to the mix for a secret surprise.
- Make decorating the pot, vase, or jar a fun project for the kids!
- Instead of flowers use fake leaves or leaves with berries to create a little potted pen bush.
- Or try other different types of flora to create various different types of pen plants.
- Instead of buying fake flowers make your own out of tissue paper or fabric.  (Don't know how, Google or YouTube "tissue paper flowers" or "fabric flowers,"  Maybe one day I'll do my own tutorial haha....)
- Change your pens with the seasons; roses in the summer, holly berries in the winter.
- If this is your personal desk, use other desk stuff such as a white out pen, a pencil, an eraser (a pencil taped backwards), a black pen, a blue pen, highlighters, permanent markers, color pencils, etc.


I'll add more ideas as I think of them!  I can't wait to try this out myself!

Sickle Cell Awareness Month

FOLLOW THE STRAY: Sickle-Cell Anemia Awareness Month

I just recently learned that Julian and my husband are carriers of the sickle-cell trait.  So, in honor of them and Sickle Cell Awareness Month I am doing my part to inform others of what Sickle Cell is (and learning about it myself as I go along).

Click here to read this post and other posts I've made for Sickle Cell Awareness Month

Make Your Own Monster

This is a project I did while I was a camp counselor at the Boys & Girls Club.  I had to get pre-teen boys excited about art--not very easy, especially since they were so attached to their PSPs and Nintendo DS's (even though they weren't even allowed at camp grrr).  So I made this project.

I made a simple body template for a monster.  Then the boys needed to cut out shapes from construction paper to glue on to the body and make their monster.  Some were reluctant at first, but by the end of the class the boys were happy to have made 2, even 3 monsters of their own, some even ventured away from the body template I created and designed their own.  I was so proud of them!  My only regret is not getting pictures of all the cool monsters they made!

This would be a fun activity to do at a Halloween or birthday party or to make cards or decorations.  I think children of all ages could really enjoy this, maybe even a creative teen or two if they're want to do something fun with their younger siblings.