Family Archives < From Under a Palm Tree

No-Hassle Racecar Box Halloween Costume

October 15, 2018 by Meagan Leave a Comment

When I asked my 3-year-old son what he wanted to dress up as this Halloween, he said with confidence, “A racing car driver!” So I thought, ok this should be easy. I’ll just get a costume at Target or on Amazon and we’re set. Jumpsuit—check. Helmet—check. I thought I was done but to my surprise when my little firecracker tried on his new racing car driver costume, his next question was, “Where’s my car?” I LOL’d because he was right—how could I forget the car! So, I scoured the internet for boxcar costume ideas and found this No-Hassle Racecar Box Halloween Costume. [Read more…]

Easy Rice Pudding

October 10, 2018 by Lisa 6 Comments

Fall is in full swing and that means it’s comfort food time! One of my favorite comfort foods is rice pudding. This rice pudding was my mother’s recipe, and I remember her making it during the cooler months in Michigan. Of course, our Florida autumns aren’t too cool, but this Easy Rice Pudding is still a yummy treat!

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How to Prepare Your Kids for Daylight Savings

October 8, 2018 by Meagan Leave a Comment

It’s almost that dreaded time of year for parents….Daylight Savings! You know fall is officially here when moods are crazy, schedules are off, kids are going to bed late, and waking up before the crack of dawn. Ahh, the sweet taste of fall. [Read more…]

Almond Crusted Fried Green Tomatoes

September 19, 2018 by Lisa 13 Comments

This is a great time of year for fried green tomatoes! With summer gardens being harvested, there’s plenty of green tomatoes to fry up for snacks, appetizers, or a tasty side dish. While unripe red tomatoes are used for fried green tomatoes, there actually are varieties of tomatoes that are green when fully ripe. Both types of green tomatoes make delicious and easy Fried Green Tomatoes.

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Teach Your Child How to Call 911

September 4, 2018 by Meagan Leave a Comment

The past few months I’ve been teaching my 3-year-old the alphabet. During the letter N week, we worked on numbers, specifically on how to call 911 in case of an emergency.

If your child has a clear understanding of numbers and letters, they’re probably at the perfect age to start learning what to do in the event of an emergency. In conjunction with learning how to call 911—on my smartphone—I’m also teaching little J how to call Mommy or Daddy in case of an emergency. [Read more…]

Letter B Lesson Plan for Preschoolers

August 27, 2018 by Meagan 17 Comments

If you’re looking for some fun-filled crafts and activities for teaching your toddler the letter B, check out some of my ideas below in this Letter B Lesson Plan for preschoolers. I use the letter of week strategy to help teach my son the alphabet. Each day I follow a letter specific lesson plan, which you can print for free, and incorporate sensory and fine motor play to engage his senses. So far, it has been going great and little by little he gets more excited to learn his letters.

Reading, crafts, sensory, and fine motor play are all great ways to engage a toddler or preschooler when teaching the alphabet. [Read more…]

Grilled Peaches and Blueberries Dessert

August 22, 2018 by Lisa 11 Comments

Grilled fruit is a tasty summer dessert that’s simple and easy for anyone to make at a moment’s notice. Peaches happen to be one of my favorite grilling fruits because of how easy they are to prepare and because they’re so sweet and delicious. The other day I had a peach and blueberry smoothie and it gave me the idea for grilling blueberries along with [Read more…]

Letter A Lesson Plan for Preschoolers

July 24, 2018 by Meagan 9 Comments

About 2 months ago I started teaching my 2 (almost 3) year old son the alphabet. At first, I thought singing the alphabet song over and over would get him interested but that was a big fail. Every time I’d start to sing he would say, “stop mommy, stop singing!” Ultimately, I decided on a different approach— the letter of week strategy.

Starting with the letters in his name, each week I concentrate on [Read more…]

How to Dispose of Unused Medications

July 18, 2018 by Lisa 5 Comments

Having raised three kids and cared for multiple family pets, medication disposal has always been an issue. In the past, I either flushed old medications down the toilet or threw them in the trash. Then I read that our water supply is becoming contaminated with human and veterinary pharmaceuticals.

Admittedly, I procrastinated finding somewhere to take my unused prescription and over the counter medications until I recently found a designated place to dispose of them.

Proper disposal keeps these drugs out of our drinking water supply and keeps us safe and healthy for the long term.

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Bye Bye Paci- How to Slowly Wean from the Pacifier

July 16, 2018 by Meagan 5 Comments

Weaning from the pacifier can be a tough transition for parents and toddlers. It was a stage I had been dreading, which is why I put it off for months. I was most nervous about my son’s sleeping habits changing so I kept telling myself “we’ll try taking it away next month”. Finally, after my son’s first visit to the dentist, I decided to take the plunge.

The dentist had confirmed what my husband and I already knew and that was that J’s pacifier was causing one his front teeth to stick out quite a bit more than the others. When he broke the news that the pacifier had to go as soon as possible, my heart sunk because I knew it was my fault for holding on. That night my husband and I made a pact to work on phasing out his pacifier right away. [Read more…]