How to Play: A Step-by-Step Guide for Grown-Ups

Lately my two boys have been staggering their naps. This unfortunately means less productive freelance work time for Mommy.  However, I have been trying to see the positive side of this, and make the most of my individual time playing with each of them.

 [While big brother naps, Toby ponders whether to play with his teething ring, or big brother's toy airplane]

This may sound funny to some, but in fact many parents have a hard time switching gears from their grown-up world and really PLAYING with their kids.  Play with your kids as much as you can, and I can almost guarantee that soon after you will...

- Smile.
- Laugh.
- Fall in love with your child all over again.
- Learn something new about your child.
- Be amazed that your child can do something you didn't even know they could do.
- Notice your little mirror reflecting the things you say and do during the day.

Here are 4 basic starting points to get you playing with your kids!

1) Lay down on the floor.  Whether you lie on your back or your belly, sometimes it really is just as simple as that.  My 1-year-old particularly loves this.  He'll crawl on me, bury his face in me, and play on and all around me with a huge perma-grin.  My 3-year-old will usually take this opportunity to instigate a wrestling session, or "doctor" me with his toy doctor kit.

 [Doctor Sammy & his assistant, Toby prescribing PLAY!]

There's just something about getting down on their level, and especially BELOW their level by letting them climb on your or making them fly like Superman on your feet.  Make them feel tall, and worth stopping your busy day for!  Also, try taking photos...you can get some great shots from down on their level!

[Just think about how awesome it is to FLY over the parents that you are normally having to strain your neck to look up to?!]

2) Say "YES."  When you have a few free moments in the day, make the decision to say "yes" to your child's questions that start with, "Mommy, wanna  ______?"  (unless of course it is illegal, would result in injuries, or contradicts your family's morals)  I am usually posed with questions like this all day long.  "Mommy, wanna play Legos with me?  Wanna play tag?  Wanna play hide and seek?  Wanna...." Most of the time I find myself saying, "Maybe later, Mommy has to _______ right now."  It's easy to get swept away with your to-do list, but if you can add "say yes to your kid's play request at least once" to your list and do this once a day, you won't regret it.

3) Play into their fantasies.  The pressure really comes off once you realize that you don't have to control or lead when it comes to play.  You don't need to achieve a list of goals, you have no time restrictions, and you don't have to follow an outline.  Relax and let your child's imagination lead you.  If your son turns the laundry basket into a boat, pretend to be the Loch Ness monster circling him.  If your daughter throws a tea party, invite yourself and share some imaginary conversation with the teddy bears and Barbie dolls.  A little imagination is good for everyone at any age! Having trouble getting some imagination going?  Put on some HATS! (or turn other stuff into hats!)

[who knew a plastic hard hat and a bendy straw could induce such smiles?!]

4) Be silly.  Sure, you may not want to practice your most realistic farting noises at a fancy restaurant, but try to let go of your inhibitions once in a while and be silly at home with your kids. While learning manners is of utmost importance to us, it's okay to teach your kids that there is a time and place for everything, including silliness!!

I get the best photos of the kids when I have my camera in hand while playing with them.  They are already naturally smiling because they are having fun, and I am able to capture some great shots of them doing what they love!  All of the photos in this post were taken yesterday while we played on the floor!

Okay, I've been typing way too long now.  Time to give in to Sammy's pleas to go play outside! (despite the below freezing temps!)  Now get down on the floor and have some FUN!

SNOW DAY!

It's snowing here.  A lot.  I am really not surprised by it anymore.  After all, this is Minnesota.  I remember watching the school closings scroll across the TV screen as a little kid, eagerly waiting for the alphabetical list of schools to get to "L" and see if Lakeville was going to bless it's students with a snow day. 

Aaah, glorious, wonderful snow days!  When you're a kid, of course, you don't have any of the worries that come along with snow....slippery roads, bumper-to-bumper traffic, shoveling, snowblowing, heat bills, ice dams, and more shoveling.  Then shoveling again when the snow plow comes by.  When I lived on a cul-de-sac as a kid, we made the most awesome snow forts by hollowing out the giant pile the snow plow left!

My kids aren't in school yet, so we can pretty much have a snow day whenever we want.  Today I have a feeling most schools are either closed or had a late start.  Here's what we did this morning...

Sammy, who has no concept of winter toys vs summer toys, still wants to ride his trike every day.  I had to shovel the driveway (again) anyway so I made him some "roads" to maneuver his trike on.
 

Where there are giant piles of snow, it's not long before Sammy turns them into snow slides!

We also had a good snowball fight, of course!

 

 This photo was from last week...while playgrounds are pretty hard to use in the winter, the swings were still use-able at the playground on the end of our street. Both boys had a blast in the swings, even though it was quite the challenge just walking over to them!

Other things you can do with the kids in the snow....
- Make snow angels
- Build a snow man (we did that last week!)
- Go sledding
- Make snow ice cream

Whatever you do outside in the snow, always, always, always end your festivities with a cup of hot chocolate!!  I highly recommend using 2% or whole milk for the most awesome chocolate milk ever.

Fun Friday Finds

I know, it's been forever since I've posted any Fun Friday Finds!  But, now that we're settled into our new home (which we plan to purchase as soon as our other home sells), and I finally have my laptop all set up where the kids play, I can get back to blogging more regularly!!  So, here are a few fun things to end your week...

DIY Window Clings
"Smashed Peas & Carrots" is always FULL of fantastic ideas.  This looks like such a fund and simple idea to make window clings for Valentine's day.  I know Valentine's is over, but you could so easily do this for any holiday.  We may have to try this for Easter!

Flower Building Toy
"Made by Joel" is another major favorite of mine on my blog reading list.  This is just such an adorable idea I had to re-post it!

Bright Times Votives by Studio Tord Boontje 
I just came across these really cool looking votive holders in a Real Simple magazine.  They remind me of the intricate work of 3D paper artists that I love to admire, but are made from metal.  I can only imagine what cool patterns the shadows cast on the wall when there is a lit candle inside!

Fun Valentine's Day Project for the Kids!

I'm sure you all already know how much I love Family Fun magazine, so it should come to no surprise that I am posting one of their fun Valentine craft project ideas today.  This seemed like a very fun and easy thing for kids to make for Valentine's day, and also a great way to use up some left-over yarn, without having to run to the store to get any supplies.

Supplies needed:

- Corn starch

- Water

- 12" pieces of yarn (I used pink, white, and red)

- Heart shaped cookie cutters

- Parchment paper

 First, cut some yarn into pieces about 12" long.  I picked a variety of shades of pink, red and white, and also tried to mix some fun textures like zig-zag and fluffy yarns.

 Next, follow the directions on the Family Fun website to cook up your "glue."   Sammy loves to help me cook so he had fun making the glue.  It's just 1/4 C corn starch mixed with 1/2 c water, cooked on the stove top until thick and translucent.  I stepped away for a second and mine got a little chunky as you can see below, but after adding a little more water I got it smooth again...

 

 Lay out your cookie cutters on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Next, dip your yarn pieces in the glue.  Like I said, it's a little too thick here, but it worked.  Then you pull each string between two fingers to scrape off excess.

 Now, lay each piece inside the cookie cutter.  Try to make sure you have the edges fairly well covered so that it does actually look like a heart when you remove the cutter.

 Sammy did not want to get his hands dirty doing this.  So, this turned into a craft more for Mommy than him after a while.  But, if you have the same problem, I found this works well...if your glue is runny enough, you can "paint" it on with a basting brush too, after laying your yarn in the cookie cutter.

 I actually found this really helpful for pushing the yarn down into the cookie cutter, because otherwise it wanted to stick to my fingers.

 Remove the cookie cutters to see your heart shapes.

 I am impatient so I opted for the fast-drying method of placing them in the oven on "warm" for a while.  Drying time will depend on how much yarn and paste your hearts have.  When they were dry enough I peeled them up and flipped them over, and later put a stack of cookbooks on them to help keep them flat, since some wanted to curl up.

This is where Family Fun's project ends, but I modified mine a little and made it into something more...

 

 This is a photo of a decoration that I made in 3rd grade (I think) when my mom came to my Valentine's day party at school and lead the class in a Valentine's craft.  We sandwiched some string between these felt hearts that she had cut out, and decorated them with glitter.  I still hang this on Valentine's day and thought I'd make a similar decoration out of the yarn hearts...

 The next day they were nice and dry.  I took a tapestry needle and some string and knotted 4 hearts together in a string, with a loop on top.

 You could sandwich these and glue them along one string like my mom's decorations.  But, I like how thin and delicate just one heart looks with the light shining through.

 I had enough hearts to make three of these and I think they look pretty spinning around from the ceiling!

I think some fun variations you could try would be to sprinkle a little glitter in the glue, or on the hearts after you smoosh the yarn into the cookie cutters.  Also, it might be pretty to string some beads between them too.  I was also thinking that this could make a very cool garland if you made enough hearts!

So, whether your child likes to get his or her hands dirty, hopefully this will be a fun project for them, and turn out to be a cute decoration that you can use from years to come!

Save the Art Department!

I was both disgusted and saddened this week to learn that the Lakeville school system that I once attended as a 7th through 12th grader is talking about cutting the art department due to budget cuts.  Not trim, but completely cut.

Things like this make me furious, not just because art is at the core of my career, my passion, and my life, but because it is yet more evidence of the pure ignorance and lack of respect that the art and design field receives from the general public...those who interact with artists' and designers' output nearly every moment of every day.  So many people have no idea that artists can enter very well respected and well paying careers.  And part of that problem, is that the schools themselves, designed to prepare children for life after school, don't show respect for this field.  Music and the arts always seem to be the first thing that school boards cut when money is tight.  These school years are when it is most important to get this message across...when young kids are at the age where they are exploring their own natural gifts and passions, and making decisions about their own careers.

Not all artists are "starving."  And not all artists only make paintings.  I could go on and on about the subject, and if you are a designer yourself, chances are you've come across these scenarios in your own life and are as frustrated as me.  One of my high school art teachers reached out to my family in hopes that we could write a few words to the school board in support of the art program.  I've copied my letter below...if any of you fellow artists or designers out there would care to add your own arguments for the art department, feel free to comment, or email me for an address where you can send a letter to everyone on the Lakeville school board!

Dear Lakeville School Board Members,

Nineteen years ago I entered the Lakeville school system through McGuire Jr. High as the awkward “new girl” in the 7^th grade. I was one of those kids who was always picked last for teams in gym class.  From 7^th grade on, I was bullied and picked on throughout much of the rest of my schooling.  However, one thing enabled me to hold on to my sense of pride, accomplishment, and self-esteem, and that was art. 

As a kid who earned good grades but was not the greatest in sports, I DID excel in the arts.  Art class was my one solace that got me through the school day.   When I walked through the door to my art room, I was entering MY world: my escape from the teasing and bullies...the one area of the school where I could stand tall, stop looking over my back, and do what I did best…where I could be myself and I was GOOD at it.  As I became engulfed in my projects, I was able to block out everything else, boost my spirits to get through the remainder of the day.  I learned to find pride and self esteem through my own inner gifts, not by cutting other people down.

So what about AFTER high school?  What is the big deal about art, anyway?  Don’t artists just make paintings that hang on the walls of stuffy museums, where only the elite art critics can afford them and interpret the meaning behind them?  Art adorned walls are not among Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, so we really don’t NEED art to live, do we? After all, most artists are “struggling” or “starving,” right?  That is what so many people believe, but these people have no idea how many careers stem from art and how it impacts EVERYONE on a daily basis.

So many schools offer huge scholarships for their local sports stars.  The Lakeville Sr High School art department pulled together a $200 scholarship, which was awarded to me my senior year.  The work that the art department put into raising that money meant more to me than any big donor’s contribution could. I went straight on to college where I majored in Graphic Design for a couple years, ultimately graduating with honors from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial design.

Industrial design is one of the many, many highly respected and even well-paying professions that people don’t realize that artists can enter, and many don’t even realize exists.  Industrial designers play a part in the creation of nearly every physical object created.  They design everything from the car you drive to work, the desk you sit in, to the pen in your hand.  They design the shoes that your basketball players wear, and the helmets that protect your football players’ heads. So far in my career, I have spent time designing everything from products themselves, to the graphics that represent them, the packages they are sold in, the store fixtures they are displayed on, and the overall retail environments they reside in. Today I run three of my own successful businesses, all using my artistic skills. But I am only one small example of a where art classes can launch a Lakeville student.  I am also a mother of two, and I know for certain that if the art department were cut entirely from their school, we would take them elsewhere.

Art classes give to creative students what sports give to athletic students. Art, to an artist, is just like any field to someone who is passionate about it…it is an enormous part of what defines them.  And when you send a message that art is expendable, you send a message that they and their future success too, are expendable.

The thought that a creative and artistic student could enter and exit the Lakeville school system without ever realizing their full potential is devastating.  Not just for the student, but for the community as well.  I hope that for the sake of your students’ futures, you will strongly consider continuing your art program in any way possible.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Gretchen Fleener, Class of 1997

DIY Circus / Carnival Themed Birthday Party!

My baby boy just turned one.  While I am still in denial that my baby is 1, I did somehow manage to throw him a party.  It's tough to figure out what a kid likes at this age, so you kindof have to wing it when coming up with a theme.  Toby loves balloons, like I'm sure most toddlers do, so I thought a circus / carnival theme would be a good theme to bring in lots of bright colors and balloons.  I always like to start with the invitation...

THE INVITATION

I decided to make Toby's invitation in the form of a circus poster, with him being the star "act."  I used a mix of hand drawing and Photoshop to create the final design, which included an illustration of Toby eating cake and the description, "Witness the amazing 1 year old Toby as he devours an entire birthday cake right before your very eyes!" 

I splurged and spent a few bucks to have these printed at Kinko's on the larger 11" x 17" paper, since my standard letter sized paper just didn't give that poster effect.

I didn't want to fold them, but wanted to treat it like a real poster, so I rolled them up.  I took some empty cardboard tubes, left over from Christmas wrapping paper, and cut them into the right length to hold each poster.  Then I just slid the poster inside and folded the edges in to close off the tubes.

I made a little banner that read, "the Circus is coming to town," printed it on sticky paper, and stuck those around the tube to dress it up a bit.

THE DECORATIONS

I hung the usual crepe paper and some balloons, and cut out the letters to spell Toby's name using some construction paper.  You'd be surprised how many decorations you can make with a little construction paper!  I also hung several extra invitation posters around the house.

Then I remembered that I recently started carrying balloons and balloon pumps for clowns and balloon twisters in my Paintertainment shop, so I bought some from myself.  I looked up some how-to videos on YouTube for making balloon animals, and there are a LOT of them.  It was just a few minutes before I had a dog, a cat, and a couple swans.  (I also had a pretty cool flower that popped!)  I thought these would make cute decorations too, so I hung a few with thread from the light in the kitchen.  Toby LOVED watching them spin around as they hung from the ceiling, and I figured I could give them to the kids as they leave the party.

THE ACTIVITIES

I didn't really do any "games" for Sammy's 1st birthday, because, well 1-year-olds are really too small to participate in games anyway.  But, since we had 6 cousins and 1 big brother at Toby's party, and most of them are old enough for games, I decided to do a pinata.

I made a circus tent pinata, which turned out cuter than I thought it would.  I actually did the paper mache part last summer, while I had all the supplies out doing Sammy's Thomas wagon for Halloween and his Thomas pinata. Multitasking at it's best!  I pulled it out closer to the party to paint it up and fill it with candy.  The flags are just construction paper glued to pieces of bamboo skewers, topped with a wood bead.  The balloons are construction paper with jewelry wire for strings, to make them "float."  I found some circus illustrations via Google Images that I glued around the edges, and a circus tent scene that I glued inside the tent "door" entrance.

The bottom has a trap door with one ribbon that opens it, along with many other ribbons that just come off when pulled.  Each kid gets to pull a ribbon until someone gets the one that dumps the candy!  Where to put the candy?  Why, in your goodie bags, of course...

THE GOODIE BAGS

I think moms have a love-hate relationship with the goodie bag.  Many times it is full of stuff that breaks or ends up in the trash once you get home.  When Sammy gets a goodie bag at a party, often times I'll stash away the little prizes and pull them out later as entertainment on a road trip, or while waiting at the doctor's office or a restaurant.

I tried to find a few little items to put in the bags, made my own labels with the kids' names on them, and then we used them mainly as a place for the kids' pinata winnings. Toby's party goodie bags included little stuffed elephants that I found in the dollar bins at Target, a couple suckers, and clown rubber balls & clown noses that I ordered online.

The clown noses actually ended up making for some pretty funny pictures of the kids!

THE MENU 
I had to do a chocolate tunnel of fudge cake because, well,
A) I love chocolate cake,
B) Toby is 1; he couldn't care less what type of cake I baked, and
C) I'm the one who went through the hours of labor on his birth day.  See reason A.

I decorated it with colorful sprinkles, some cute balloon candles, and a little circus train cake decoration that my mom used to use on our cakes when my siblings and I were little.

I have another bundt pan that makes 6 little cakes, so I filled one cavity to make a miniature version just for Toby to dig into!

Turns out the mini bundt shape was perfect for him to pick up and eat, much like a doughnut!

While surfing the web I came across this idea for making cupcakes that look like little popcorn cups. Sure, I have a cake already, but what the heck...why not add another form of cake.  Especially when it's a cupcake that looks like some other food.  You all know from this post, and this post, that I have a thing for cupcakes that look like other foods.

You'd think that red and white striped cupcake liners would be easy to find, but they are not.  Most recipes online want you to buy some fancy, expensive snack cups or use markers to color the paper.  I did not want to spend the money on cupcake liners, and could not picture lifting a cupcake to my nose only to smell Sharpie fumes.  So, I ultimately decided to just make my own popcorn box design on the computer that would wrap around the cupcakes.

Fortunately for you, you don't even have to make your own, because I am going to give you a copy of my little cupcake covers to download for FREE!  Just click the link to download the pdf, print it out, cut, and tape around your cupcakes.  If you have some scrapbooking scissors, try doing a decorative edge along the top like I did, for an added touch! Here's the one I used:

 

So, to make the popcorn cupcakes, here's what I did...

1) Bake some cupcakes.  I used a yellow cake mix.

2)  Tape the cupcake "popcorn tub" sleeves into circles, using a cupcake as a guide.  You want the circumference of the sleeve to basically match the circumference of the top of the cupcake liner.  Set these aside, so you don't get them full of frosting or food coloring while you decorate.

3) Frost the cupcakes.  I used cream cheese frosting.  Something white or off-white that blends with the color of the "popcorn" looks best.

4) Top the cupcake with mini marshmallows.

5) Cut each one of the marshmallows in an "X" shape.  This is the most time consuming step, but don't skip it!!  This is what makes them look so much like popcorn!  I used my Tiny Bites Food Shears and they worked great.  I found that after 1 cupcake, I'd usually get a little bit of sticky marshmallow on the blades, and then the marshmallows wanted to stick to the scissors and come off.  To remedy that, I rinsed off the tips of the scissors whenever something got on them.  I didn't totally dry them off...just shook off the excess water.  A little water left on the blades helped them to glide right through the marshmallows.

6) Apply the popcorn "butter."  The recipe suggests that aerosol spray food coloring, but I tried several  grocery stores with no luck.  In the end I decided to mix some yellow food coloring and water and spray it on with a clean spray bottle.  You could also try brushing it on with a basting brush, however, don't get them TOO wet or you'll dissolve the marshmallows.

7) Slip each cupcake into a popcorn tub sleeve, and you're done!

The rest of the menu really stressed me out this time for a little while as I just wasn't sure what to make.  The popcorn cupcakes were the starting point, and I thought, why not let the carnival theme flow through the whole menu?  So, in addition to these little popcorn cups, I served...

Mini & Regular Sized Corn Dogs...normally I wouldn't serve frozen junk food like this at a party, but hey, what's a carnival without corn dogs?  Plus, every kid loves corn dogs, and these are easy.  

To add something a little more adult to the mix but still within the corn dog realm, I found this corn dog casserole online and gave it a try. My husband thought it sounded gross, but everyone liked it in the end (or said they did) so I'm glad I tried it!  It's made with cut up hot dogs, cornbread mix, green onions, celery, sage, egg, milk, cheddar cheese and pepper. It's an easy thing to prep ahead of time and then assemble and stick in the oven a half hour before party time.

You can't have a circus without peanuts, so I made sure to put out a bowl of peanuts.  (with a warning, of course, to please not feed the elephants!)  

It looked pretty cute with a little sign and Toby's stuffed elephant nearby.  I was going to get those circus peanut candies, however, I couldn't find them at my grocery store and decided they aren't really all that good anyway.  At least these have some protein...

We also had a big, bear-shaped container of animal crackers out. Although, if you got those little individual boxes that look like little circus train cars, they'd look really cute on the table too!

Luckily we live less than 10 miles away from the Mall of America, and it's amusement park, Nickelodeon Universe.  So, we have access to carnival type food year-round.  I was able to make a trip out in below zero temperatures the night before the party to pick up a big bag of cotton candy for 3 bucks.  When I got home, I divided it up into little ziploc baggies and made tags to fold over and staple to the top.  They turned out really cute and looked pretty in a big, glass bowl!  If you can find your own cotton candy, you can download my labels here and make your own little servings!

While cleaning and packing stuff for our move next week, I came across an ice shaver that my mom had gotten from Pampered Chef years ago, and had passed down to me.  I don't think I've used it in at least 10 years but I thought it would be a great way to offer another carnival food item...Sno Kones!  A week before the party I started freezing ice "pucks" and stashing a supply in the freezer.  I printed a little sign to hang above the shaver, set a glass of straws and some cups nearby, and even found a recipe to make your own snow cone syrup.  I've also uploaded a page of my little food signs for you to use, if you like here!!

Oh yeah, and I threw in a veggie tray with dip, fruit, pasta salad and some chips too for people who wanted some "actual" food.  Gotta have a few veggies to counteract my guilt from serving an entire table of fat and sugar!  But hey, nobody goes to the carnival to eat vegetables anyway, right?!

All in all I think it was a fun time, and the birthday boy seemed to enjoy it all very much!  (except for the scary candy falling from the sky during the pinata!)