Tiny Chef

 So, my kids have always been difficult eaters. One thing I read was that if you get them involved IN the cooking, they are more likely to eat....

Well, experimentation has shown this to be correct!

Making salad! She LOVED getting all involved in this. 

A couple of days later, we tried Pizza! Messy, but so fun, and delicious!

Messy...

 but delicious. 

I'm trying to include River in at least a couple meals a week now. She LOVES it, and she is eating better too :)

Teaching our kids to do things themselves, even when it takes 6 times as long - one of the things mamas do :)

Halloween!

So, we did a lot of crafting for Halloween! The kids costumes were bought or borrowed, and mine was super easy, but Kirk's Captain Hook costume really took some work!

 Here is the coat we got at Goodwill!

 Me, getting down to work!

 1 finished sleeve - Red satin and gold braid!

 Finished coat!!

 Look at our spiffy family :) We went to a trick or treat street downtown - super fun!

Then! Halloween Morning! We made pancakes, and we made them fun!

PUMPKIN!

(to  be honest, no actual pumpkin was used. That would be delicious though!)

yum!

There were lots of mini halloween crafts too, but too many pics in this post already. oy!

Building memories and traditions for our kids, and for us - one of the things mamas do.

Pumpkin Decorating

No respectable Craft OR mommy blog would be complete without a Pumpkin Decorating post. Ours is in the toddler realm...

 Pumpkins + Sharpies = wonderful pumpkins the kids can do and that will last

 River's completed pumpkin - not enough marker, I think.

 My pumpkin - not quite done yet - sparkles are COMING

 Danger has a much smaller project - but he enjoyed it :)

Stars were more his speed :)

We are still waiting on Dad's pumpkin - but I'm sure it will be fabulous :)

Finding creative ways to celebrate the holidays - one of the things mamas do.

Bowling

This is just a mini post today. My kids have been BORED - car is in the shop and they all had sniffles so not a lot of playdate action. What's a mama to do?!

Welllll, we got creative. And this day it was paper towel bowling!

All you need is: Paper Towels Rolls (or empty soda containers, or even stacks of toilet tissue), and a large ball

 River was into it! I tried to get her to back up, but she noticed that greatly decreased her score. And she didn't like that. Imagine ;)

The boy tried a different approach, but he was soooo happy when he knocked the pins down! Absolutely worth dirty napkins :)

All in all, a great game to fill an empty afternoon - good for counting, good for eye hand coordination. Lots of fun :)

Rescuing our kids from the cries of "I'm bored!" - one of the things mamas do.

Things Dads do :)

So, this blog is all about the things mama's do, but daddies are pretty wonderful too.

Case in point: my Dangerboy loves himself some trains.

NOM NOM NOM!

So, we got him a train table and some track, but lately we've been playing with it in the living room. Well, the wonderful daddy my kids have has been making a new track every evening for our little man. 

   

sweet daddy :)

And every morning it's a "WOW WOW WOW" fest as Danger discovers the new path and subsequently plays with it until breakfast.

 

Finding the little things that make our kids glow inside and doing them - one of the things daddies do :)

Hair Cut

My baby girl has gorgeous blond hair with just the cutest little curls. This was not always the case, though. No, River was born with a mohawk and had one for a very, very long time until the rest decided to catch up.  

 

10 months - still only a hawk

Now, with her gorgeous curls, she had a scraggly bit in the back that was that mohawk grown out. I have been afraid to cut it, fearing the curls wont return, but alas, I could take it no more.

 Here you can see that thin little bit in the back.

SNIP!

 

goodbye tiny curl :(

A healthy little haircut for a healthy little girl.

On the left is Danger's hair from when we cut his hair the first time.  On the right, River's first curl.

Helping our children grow up, even when it hurts us a little - one of the things mamas do.

Thankful Tree

I really wanted to do a fall craft with my kids, get them into the spirit of the Harvest season, AND utilize a big empty space in our living room. I am nothing if not ambitious! So, I decided to make a fall tree and use our handprints as leaves. THEN, i decided to put things we are thankful for on the leaves. Thus, the thankful tree was born...

Here is the beginning of Thankful Tree. Just brown construction paper pieced together. The black marker really made it look so much more like bark and not an indecipherable brown blob. 

A few handprints going up. Those were a bit of work. This really ended up being a me craft, rather than Mommy-and-me. But the kids loved watching it come together. 

Here is our finished tree! I love the way it came out and everyone who sees it really seems to like it. The kids are memorizing some of the leaves and point them out "Grammy!" "our bikes!" "our great home!" It's so neat. I want to make a new one every year, and maybe save a few of the handprints to watch them get big. :)

Helping my kids appreciate the blessings we have in life - one of the things mamas do.