Books

Activities, Education, Fall, Recipes, Toddlers

Pumpkin Spice Play-dough

October 30, 2018

I love anything pumpkin spice, so I couldn’t let fall fly by without making this play-dough. For some reason, it took me forever to get all the ingredients on hand to make this play-dough, but I’m glad I finally was able to make it. It smells fantastic and goes great with any Halloween or fall themed activities.

As soon as I opened the container, Rosebud said it smelled good enough to eat. And yes, she took several bites even though I kept telling her not too. I’m sure it smells way better than it tastes. I set out some play-dough tools. We have rolling pins, mini spatulas, play-dough scissors and cookie cutters. I found any Halloween related trinkets I found in my kitchen as well. I have a tiny ghost cake pan and some ghost and pumpkin rings that came on a cake.

We tried making pumpkins. Well, I would and then Rosebud would squish them.

We made ghosts, squished them up and then filled the pan again.

Finally, I made different shaped pumpkins like in the book, The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin. It’s a book about a square pumpkin who saves the day for a farmer because of his differences. It’s a great book for Halloween, but the underlying theme is diversity. Even though we may look different, you can find something wonderful and worthwhile in those differences.

Here’s the recipe I used.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour,

1 cup salt,

2 table spoons cream of tarter,

1 table spoon Pumpkin Spice,
2 table spoons vegetable oil,

1&1/2 cups boiling water,

A couple drops of glycerin to add shine,

Red and yellow food coloring.

Directions:

1. Mix together dry ingredients.

2. Stir in oil.

3. Add water and stir until the lumps are gone and it comes together.

4. Kneed. Add food coloring, scent, glitter and or glycerin at this stage.

Store in an air tight container. All of my batches of play-dough have stayed good for a couple months at least.

Enjoy and happy playing. What are your favorite fall activities with play-dough? Let me know in the comments.

9 Comments

Books, Education, Parenting

Five Fun Halloween Books for Toddlers

September 19, 2018

In the beginning of September, I brought out all Rosebud’s fall and Halloween themed books. She has been wanting to read them every night, so I thought I’d share the ones she really enjoys.

1. Five Little Pumpkins.

I’ve had this book since her first Halloween and she loves it. It’s a simple rhyme about pumpkins. They have finger plays and songs for it as well. She loves to read along and his it memorized now.

2. Who’s There on Halloween.

This is another cute Halloween book. It has hints for different Halloween related characters like the witch, ghost and spider. She has this book memorized too, but she hasn’t figured out that the point is to guess by the clues before you turn the page.

3. Boo! A Halloween Peek-a-boo.

This is a short, but silly Halloween book. A dog chases different Halloween characters in costume who say different things. Rosebud likes when I do silly voices with this book. I just introduced this one to her this year because it has paper pages, but she always asks to read this first.

4. Scratch and Sniff Halloween.

Who doesn’t like scratch and sniff books? They are fun until they lose their scent, but Rosebud has been having fun reading this one regardless. You can smell the minty witches brew, the spooky pumpkin or the sweet lollypop.

5. Big Pumpkin

I just ordered the paper copy of this one, but we like to listen to the audio version I found on Youtube because it’s sung to a song. If you’ve never read this book, the witch wants to make pumpkin pie, but the pumpkin is too big to take off the vine. The witch, ghost, vampire and others try to remove it, but it doesn’t work until a bat comes along with the solution. This book is good because it’s an actual story, but it is not too long that an older toddler won’t sit through it. Rosebud is growing out of the simple board books. Although she still loves them, I think she’s ready for longer stories.

What are your favorite Halloween books? Tell me in the comments.

5 Comments

Parenting, Shopping

Prime Day 2018: Bargains for Busy Moms

July 15, 2018

If you are a busy multitasking mom, there are never enough hours in the day so finding time and money saving apps, products or services can be a life saver. Anything that makes life less stressful or reduces the amount of rushing around is fantastic!

A busy mom working while playing with her daughter. For those who don’t know, Prime Day starts tomorrow, July 16th at 3 p.m. ET. I have been an Amazon Prime subscriber for years. You can find just about anything on Amazon and the best thing about Prime is that you can have these items shipped to your door. If you’re a Prime subscriber, two day shipping is free and one day shipping is only $3.99. They are offering a 30 day free trial for new subscribers. There is no better time to take advantage of this than on Prime day when you have access to tons of deals. Prime Day – Prime Membership $3 bounty

Some of the other Prime benefits include access to a large library of kindle books, access to their music streaming service and having clothing shipped right to your door. You can try the clothes on in the privacy of your own home and if you don’t like the clothing, you can return the package with no hassle. It’s already labeled so just drop it in the mailbox. I have yet to take advantage of the Amazon Fresh program as it’s not available in my area, but I am a huge fan of having groceries delivered to your door. If you are a busy mom, this can save you time and money so why not give it a try if it is available in your area?
Prime Day – Amazon Fresh $5 bounty

Another time saver is the Instant Pot. Moms on the message boards are crazy about these. On Prime Day, they usually have great deals on the Instant Pot. I love things that help me save time with meal prep so I really want to see what all the hype is about.
 A weekly schedule on a white board next to a cup of coffee.
It’s important that we do things for ourselves too, even when we are multitasking. Are there books that you have been dying to read? I joined Audible several years ago and have been addicted ever since. I can listen while I clean, sit outside and Audible books were a life saver during my nursing and pumping days. Audible is great for busy parents on the go as you can listen during your commute. for Prime day, Amazon is offering a 60% discount on an Audible subscription. Normally a membership is $14.95 per month, but for Prime day, it is $4.95 per month for new subscribers. If you enjoy audio books, this is worth taking advantage of.
Prime Day – Audible $10 bounty
If you prefer reading, Amazon offers a Kindle Unlimited subscription where you have access to millions of books for a monthly fee. Think of it as a library, but in digital form. You also get access to audio books and magazines with this subscription. For Prime Day, new subscribers get a three month subscription for 99 cents. I’ve been wanting to try Kindle Unlimited and this would be a great way to try it at very little cost. the great thing is you can access your books from the kindle app on any device. When I read kindle books, I use the app on my iPhone.

Prime Day – Kindle Unlimited $3 bounty
I’ve used Amazon’s subscribe and save feature on everything from diapers, to cat food and even batteries. If you have five items in your delivery, you save an additional 20% off your purchase. I love that essential items will arrive at my door each month and I don’t even have to think about them. I don’t have to make late night runs to the store for diapers. I don’t have to worry that the cats will run out of food. I can get great deals on essentials like soap and toothpaste. Also, I can try new products or find products that they have stopped carrying in the local stores. You can stop or modify subscriptions at any time. My only complaint is that you can’t pick the shipping date. there are times when I want my shipment to arrive sooner. Overall, it’s a great service. Here are some of the products you can subscribe to get each month.
I’ve been using these diapers since Rosebud was a newborn and they’ve worked wonderfully.
 
With a deal like this, you’ll have plenty of batteries. I was always in search of batteries before finding these because it seems every toy under the sun is battery operated.
 I can’t find these dryer sheets locally anymore, but I love the scent. Luckily they are apart of the Subscribe and Save program.
 
Since Rosebud isn’t potty trained yet, I’m still using these. They can ship right with the diapers or you can change the frequency of deliveries for each item.
 
I usually buy Sparkle paper towels, but you can find the brand of your choice.
 
I hope you have found this helpful. Enjoy Prime Day and happy shopping!

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Parenting, Personal Development, Self acceptance,, Uncategorized

Owning My Guilt

July 13, 2018

I'm reading Cara Alwill Leyba's new book, "Like She Owns The place”. 


 For those who don't know, Cara is an author and master life coach who works to help women empower themselves and change their mindset. I found her online several years ago and discovered that a lot of her message resonates with me.
One passage she wrote about guilt in, "Like She Owns the Place" stood out to me. She discusses the idea that women often feel guilty due to external forces. Such as ones culture, religion or the society they live in. It may come from childhood experiences or friends and family making them feel guilty. This may be intentional or not, but never the less, the guilt shows up. She poses the question, if you are not hurting yourself or anyone else, why feel guilty? Cara describes one situation where she was taking a day off from work, spending the day at home. Her plan was to binge watch a show and have a glass of wine. Meanwhile, her husband decided to reorganize a closet full of Christmas decorations. Seeing this, she felt guilty and went over to help, but he encouraged her to take time for herself. That’s the sign of a good man, by the way. She said she went back to watch tv, but it didn’t come naturally to her. She felt guilty for taking time for herself and not working.
I often feel guilty over things like this. Today, my mom took Rosebud so that I could rest as I haven’t been feeling well. I can’t rest though because I start feeling guilty and thinking of everything I need to do. If I’m napping on the couch, the laundry isn’t getting done. The dishes are piled up in the sink. Rosebud's toys need to be rotated. Countertops need to be dusted. That’s just the house work. Then there’s the work you actually get paid for. I don’t feel guilty about taking time away from my job outside the home, but I feel guilt over not working on transcription stuff. I think to myself, I should be transcribing practice files or doing the business plan paper work. As with the blog posts, I set imaginary deadlines and the guilt sets in.

This week is supposed to be my vacation, but I’m having trouble just letting it be. I always have to fill my time and not necessarily with the things I enjoy. I need to feel productive even in times when I should be resting. The mom guilt is never ending. While Rosebud is not here, I’ve spent much of my time doing things for her instead of myself. I’ve washed toys, did laundry and prepared her dinner for later. It's one way to ease the guilt of taking time away from her. Then again, when I'm spending time with her just playing, I get that nagging feeling about the house work. Then when I'm cleaning or doing other things, I feel guilty about giving her screen time. While she's away, I’ve been pondering how to take away the pacifier. Should I try a gradual approach or go cold turkey? This was prompted by her visit to the dentist this morning. In between cleaning and thoughts of the annoying paci, I wonder how she’s doing. What is she doing right now? Has she napped? What did she eat for lunch? Then I think maybe I should watch some videos of her. Oh, wait... I better get back to work.

As Cara points out in her book, when we are old, what will we be worrying about? Will we be worried about all the times we should’ve cleaned closets, typed up that report or swept the kitchen floor? Definitely not! We will be remembering things we enjoyed. The times with our loved ones, the things we’ve created or times we did something crazy, fun and memorable. The fact is, we all need time to replenish ourselves. If we don't get that, we become unhappy and lose sight of our strengths, passions and our joy. We need to start erasing some of this guilt. If not, what are we teaching our children and what are we doing to our emotional well-being? I’m finally in my element. I’m taking the time to write which makes me feel lighter and taps into my creative side. I’m sitting outside enjoying the breeze on my face, the shade of a tree and listening to the birds over head.

Here are some of Cara's other books if you are interested.
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