Sustainable & Creative Living
Learning to recognize sequences and patterns is an important part of beginning math skills. Even the simplest form of patterning can help a child learn and develop the skills they will need to master math concepts like times tables and addition. There are many ways to help your preschooler develop these skills without spending a lot of money. One of mine and my son’s favorite ways to practice learning sequences and patterns is with [Read more…]
With Christmas just about a week away, I’ve been doing some fun holiday crafts with my 3-year-old. A few weeks ago, during Thanksgiving, we made a turkey magnet which you can see here. It was so easy and quick that I decided to also make a Christmas Tree Magnet. We made a couple to give as gifts to grandparents and the few who can really appreciate a toddler’s one-of-a-kind artwork. [Read more…]
Every Christmas I love making special holiday-themed crafts with my son so that he can give them to grandparents and other family members. Sometimes we make handprint Christmas cards or festive DIY ornaments. This year I combined the two and made this Christmas Tree Handprint Ornament.
Christmas is just around the corner! Yay!! I just started my shopping the other day at T.J. Maxx and as I bent over the jewelry counter to look at some earrings, I said to myself, “ NOOOO…do not buy any of the girls another pair of earrings! They don’t need them!!” (Of course, I considered getting them for myself, but that’s another subject). I got to thinking about what gifts I could get the special people in my life in the way of experiences instead of [Read more…]
These days more products than ever are being recycled. Many of these items are things a lot of us never
considered to be recyclable. These 5 Items You Should Be Recycling are just a very few of those
products. I don’t know about you, but I find myself feeling more and more guilty when I throw something in the trash without trying to first figure out a way to repurpose or recycle it. At any given time I have 2 or 3, [Read more…]
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 DIY Race Car Box Halloween Costume. [Read more…]
I love gardening and caring for houseplants, but I freely admit that because of my schedule, my plants don’t often get the care they deserve. This is why I stick to easy to care for plants. This means I tend to have a lot of the same kinds of plants. Another reason I have a lot of the same plants is because I propagate the ones that I like and want to have more of. Here is a guide to Easy Plant Propagation: [Read more…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
For the past 15 years, our little family, along with my husband’s large side of the family, has been gathering on the white sandy beaches of Captiva Island for our summer ritual of fun and relaxation. One week spent in the same time share, for over thirty years, first began with my husband, his brother and sister, and his parents. A once small, but traditional family vacation, has now turned into a great gathering of friends and family where we share food, wine, laughs, game nights, ice cream, burgers, and more wine. [Read more…]
