Our Top Five (free) Favorite Summer Activities

It's officially the middle of summer and wow does it feel as if it's flying.

As a Mom I know first hand that the summer can get a tad bit pricey. We want to everything we possibly can with our kids and get out of the house any chance we get. Especially being a Michigander the last thing you want to have is cabin fever all over again during the nice spring and summer months after you have been cooped up all winter long. Even more so if you are me and your Daughters are not a fan of playing out in the cold snow.

That's when I thought I would share our top five favorite free things we enjoy doing during the summer.

Top Five Free Summer Activities

1. Going to a local parks splash pad. (My Daughters love the splash pads. They are like a giant sprinkler but ten times better.)

2. Going to the local library. (My Daughters love to go check out books for free. Ours even has story time and crafts. Check yours out!) 

3. The beach. (who doesn't love the beach? Check for a free beach near you. We are blessed with the great lakes.)

4. Local Parks. (Find a park with a playground near you. Or even a schools playground.) 

5. Playing with Friends. (My Daughters love their play dates and neighborhood friends. They enjoy campfires and just a good time with friends that involve summer fun.) 

What are some of your favorite summer activities to do with your kids?

Congratulations!!

The winner of the STICKY BELLIES giveaway is: Rachel @mywholesomehome 

You have 24 hours to Email me (Kaitlyn) @ kaitlynhoff3@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Calling All Pregnant Mamas & Infant Mamas: Sticky Bellies GIVEAWAY!!

GIVEAWAY

Last Monday I had the fun honor of doing a LIVE TV segment for children's summer kick off at one of our news stations TV shows. Read about it here. One of my favorite products...okay all the products were my favorite but still...I absolutely love the Sticky Bellies. I have to admit I feel like a Mom in the dinosaur ages even though my youngest Daughter is only going on three. But I swear these fun things didn't come out till after. Now I figured out the super neat idea of the monthly milestone pictures. 

What are Sticky Bellies? They are the most perfect milestone markers for you and your baby. They have a wide variety on their website, from baby to pregnancy. What is a more fun way than prepping your little cuties for a milestone photo with a Sticky Bellie. 

What makes Stick Bellies unique? 

1. The stickers are reusable. Once you take the sticker off just place it back onto the wax paper.
2. Yes they are safe for your baby and you. If your a Mom like me I like to make sure of things like that. Sticky Bellies are CPSIA compliant. Their is no lead, phthalates, and BPA or any other harmful stuff you do not want near your or your baby. 
3. Their is a section on their website that will give you ideas for your baby's milestone photos. 
4. Guess what?! They even ship outside the United States! 

   

   Photo Credit: Sticky Bellies.com

The best part is I'm hosting a Sticky Bellies GIVEAWAY!!

Enter for your chance to win the first years onsies milestone from Sticky Bellies.
Go start entering!

Photo Credit: Sticky Bellies.com

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Summer Kick Off: Take Five Grand Rapids

This morning the girls and I had the great opportunity to be on our local news stations TV show, Take Five Grand Rapids. It was a neat experience and I am so glad my girls were able to see how it all works behind the scenes. The camera crew was amazing and meeting everyone was so much fun. Now I can officially say I've been on TV thanks to my hard work on my blog. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me and my Mommy blog.

Here is a list of what was on today's July 3rd Take Five Grand Rapids Kids Summer Kick Off Segment. Of course I do not want my followers to miss out. Also if you watched and are here visiting thank you! 

What Was On The segment!

BRANDS:

Snapper Rock (www.snapperrock.com) is a fun and stylish UV50+ swimwear line that keeps kids and tweens (ages infant – 14 years old) looking cool and protected while they play in the sun!  Snapper Rock offers beachwear accessories and swimsuits for kids ages 0-14+ in a variety of styles from hats to kaftans, board shorts to 3-piece swim sets – something for every child both in and out of the water. With innovative fabric technology, Snapper Rock blocks 98% of UV rays, providing parents peace of mind while their little ones hit the beach in style.  

INTEX® (www.intexcorp.com) is an award-winning company that prides itself on designing and producing high quality, innovative products for indoor and outdoor recreation including above ground swimming pools, airbeds, inflatable toys and pool and lake boats! INTEX® products are available for purchase in over 100 countries and can be found in local retailers such as Walmart, Target and Sears. 

Magnificent Baby (www.magnificentbaby.com) focuses on high style, high function and high comfort. Their layette collection features Smart Close, a patented magnetic-fastening technology, allowing parents to change their baby in seconds. Their Spring/Summer 2014 collection features a brand new toddler line featuring adorable playwear and seasonal items.

Kapital K (www.kapitalk.com) provides stylish options for boys from newborn to size 6. The bright colors and bold prints of the Spring/Summer 2014 collection perfectly match the warmer temperatures of the seasons.

Babiators (www.babiators.com) is a line of aviator-style sunglasses for babies and children (ages 0- 7 years old). Babiators provide 100% UVA and UVB protection and offers a Lost & Found Guarantee – if you lose/break your Babiators within the first year of purchase, Babiators will replace them, no question!

Lakeshore (www.lakeshorelearning.com) is a company creating quality educational materials for kids since 1954.

LaLaLounger (www.lalalounger.com) is a unique children’s lounger. When moms need an extra hand to finish a task, babies and toddlers can play and rest in a plush place, safe from any injuries from falling. As the little one grows, LaLaLounger transforms into a great place for reading and relaxing. 

Sticky Bellies (www.stickybellies.com ) are cute, reusable stickers that parents can use to mark milestones in their child’s life. Sticky Bellies’ “Happiest Holidays” collection includes a reusable Fourth of July sticker that is perfect for parents who want to capture baby’s first Fourth.

Websites To The Products

• Snapper Rock

www.snapperrock.com 

• Intex

www.intexcorp.com

• Magnificent Baby 

www.magnificentbaby.com 

• Kapital K

http://www.kapital-k.com/

• Babiators 

www.babiators.com

• Lakeshore

www.lakeshorelearning.com 

• LaLaLounger

www.lalalounger.com 

• Sticky Bellies

www.stickybellies.com

How To Throw A Summer Party!

What is better than to bring in the first day of summer with a "end of school year"/ "beginning of summer" party"?  Therefore that is exactly what we did for our oldest Daughter. It was a ton of fun and filled with so much excitement. She invited her close friends from her class at school. The party was like their, until next school year. 

With that being said here are some insider tips how to throw a summer party. I like to keep things simple and low cost. 

How To Throw A Summer Party

1.Plan: Plan out your guest list first. Next plan out what style party, food and the decorations. Remember your party can be simple and low cost and still look great, it just may take a few extra steps. Therefore plan ahead of time.

2. Food: Hot dogs are a great main course. Make it even more unique by roasting them over a fire. Each child roasted their own hot dog at the party. Watermelon is always a hit. You may cut them into triangles and simply add a Popsicle stick. Kids will love them. For dessert roast s'mores over the fire. It's fun and a great way to kick off summer and kids really love s'mores, who doesn't?

3.DIY: When I talk about keeping it low cost that is where I am talking about planning ahead. Make your own decorations. Visit your local Dollar Tree store. In the pictures below I made my own party banner. I purchased almost all my summer party supplies from our local Dollar Tree store. The Green bucket worked great to serve the chips in. I used the small purples buckets for the s'mores and silverware, which by the way came in a pack of 4/$1.  I already had the cups from my kitchen that I had recycled from the past. 

4.Games: Kids love playing games. At our Daughter Ev's age they pretty much entertained themselves though. Can't complain.  We played soccer in the backyard, the camp fire was a total hit and took up a lot of the time, at this age they enjoyed chatting with each other. On the other hand some fun games are...

Bing bang toss, Hanging a pinata from the tree, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, painting, crafts, etc. 

5: Do not over do yourself. Remember you do not have to prove anything. 

 The DIY party banner

 S'mores are great for a summer party or get together. 

Watermelon on sticks are perfect for little fingers and make less mess.

                                         

What are you doing to celebrate the your summer? 

50+ Sumer Bucket List For Family And Kids!

Summer break is officially here. School is out and soon enough our kids will be saying those famous words, "I'm bored." This summer as a SAHM I decided to come up with my own list with my two older Daughters help. Before we knew had already had over fifty ideas for all of us to do as a family and for them to do to keep busy.

Most of these ideas are pretty simple. A few would be great to maybe even make a weekend trip or a day trip. Some are education. A few may even get those smart brains rolling inside along with their creativeness. Of course You cannot forget to add in some kindness and volunteer. Feel free to print this off.[ I do not have a PDF of the bucket list yet.]

2014 Summer Bucket List For Family & Kids

1. Go to the beach
2. Visit your local library and check out books
3. Visit your local library for story time
4. Visit your local library for craft time
5. Go out for ice-cream with family
6. Go to the beach
7. Go to the local zoo
8. Go to the park
9. Go to a park you have not been to yet
10. Go to a water park
11. Go to a local pool.
12. Have a playdate with a friend
13. Have a sleepover with a best friend
14. Catch bufferflys
15. Make homemade ice-cream
16. Have a campfire in the backyard
17. Go camping
18. Go for a family walk
19. Visit with your cousins
20. Go to a 4TH of July parade
21. Go to a movie in a movie theater
22. Play outside with your neighbors
23. Go for a bike ride
24. Have a lemonade stand sale
25. Play chalk art
26. Make homemade bubbles and blow bubbles
27. Go on a nature hike
28. Go on a scavenge hunt
29. Paint rocks
30. Visit a farmers market
31. Plant a garden and watch it grow
32. Make a fairy garden
33. Go fishing with Dad or Mom
34. Fly a kite on a windy day
35. Have a cook out
36. Go geo-caching 
37. Have a water balloon fight
38. Go apple picking
39. Go blueberry picking
40. Go strawberry picking
41. Catch fireflies 
42. Go on a picnic
43. Have a movie in the backyard
44. Have a garage sale
45. Work as a family at your local kids food basket
46. Volenteer 
47. Have a family game night
48. Drive out to the country
49. Camp in your backyard
50. Play in the sprinkler
51. Read as a family
52. Dance in the rain
53. Make crafts
54. Paint
55. Build a sand castle
56. Attend a summer camp
57. Write a summer journal
58. Watch the sunset 
59. Attend a bible camp
60. Watch fireworks 
61. Take a walk on the beach
62. Look at the stars
63. Write a letter to a friend

What does your family love doing now that it is summer break? Is it something you do every summer?


                  

Books To Read Before Kindergarten & Why Reading Is Important

 We do a lot of reading in our house. Reading to your child is important in many ways.

• It allows you to spend quality time with your child and grow that special bond.
• It's been proven out there somewhere that reading to your child in their early years; like before preschool, can help them succeed in their education.
• Speech. It allows them to learn the correct sounds.
• Believe it or not but reading to your child will teach them how to express themselves.
• When your child is going through a certain state of emotions etc. there are stories out there you can read so they don't feel alone and understand.
• Reading can help develop a child's imagination.
• It can also teach a child learn how to use their solving skills.
• I could go on and on but lastly it also shows a child that reading is fun and most likely they will want to continue to become a great reader themselves and learn to love books.

With that being said I wanted to share a list of books to read before your child enters kindergarten that I had received.

• Abuela
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, very Bad Day
• Bee-Bim Bop
• The Berenstain Bear Series
• Biggies, Strongest, Fastes
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
• The Carrot Seed
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
• Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
• Corduroy
• Curious Gorge 
• Diez Deditos: Ten Little Fingers
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Buss
• Each Peach Pear Plum
• The Everything Book
• Froggy Gets Dressed
• Frog and Toad Are Friends
• Gorge and Martha
• Go. Dog, Go
• Goodnight Moon
• Green Eggs and Ham
• Guess How Much I Love You?
• Harold and the Purple Crayon
• How DO Dinosaurs Say Goodnight
• if You Give a Mouse a Cookie
• Is Your mama a Llama 
• The Kissing Hand
• Lily's Purple Plastic Purse
• Lyle, Lyle Crocodile
• The Magic School Buss Series 
• Martha Speaks
• Millions Of Cats
• Miss Nelson is Missing!
• Mr. Popper's Penguins
• My Father's Dragon
• Nate The Great
• Night Shift Daddy
• The paper Bag Princess
• The Polar Express
• Rapunzel
• Tuesday
• Where the Wild Things Grow
• Stellaluna 
• Swimmy

Enjoy reading! What's your child's favorite book?

Homemade Kool-Aid Playdough (recipe)

As a child I loved playdough. One of my childhood memories is playing with playdough at our kitchen table for hours. So once our daughters were old enough I just had to introduce them to the wonderful invention of playdough.

 I finally started making my daughters playdough instead of buying it at the stores. It's a great way to invite them into the kitchen and help. Kids love to help any ways they can in the kitchen.

We are a huge fan of the kool-aid recipe. Not only does it smell fruity and not like your traditional playdough, the kool-aid gives it vibrant colors.

Homemade Kool-Aid Playdough

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of salt (fine salt works best)

2 teaspoons of cream of tarter ( found in the spice section of your local grocery store)

1 tablespoon of veggie oil

1 cup of water

1 kool-aid packet

1. Add all ingredients together in a sauce pan. 
2. Turn stove on love heat while mixing till it meets a playdough consistency.
3. Take out of pan and place on a cutting board and kneed the playdough. (You may have to wait for it to cool down a bit.)
4. Once it's completely cooled down it's ready to play! Or you may store it. We store ours in plastic bags right now and it works great. 
   
   
   
   
   

Common questions I had for homemade playdough:

Does it make their hands messy colored from the kool-aid? No it does not do either.
How long does it last? It truly depends on how you store it and take care of it. It can be a couple weeks to a couple months
How much does this recipe make? It makes a good handful. Equivalent almost a a sandwich bag.
How long does it take to make? It took me only 5 minutes not even for one batch.
Is it really cost efficient? Yes!

New Years and New Traditions

Happy New year! My husband and I choose to stay home with our daughters again this year. I can't imagine ringing in the new year without my loves. I had some fun activities planned for us through the evening. until the migraine I was fighting through out the day made a turn for the worse. No medications, not even my topamax were working,  For those who don't know me on a personal level, I am a chronic migraine sufferer. We are in the midst of figuring out the causes and other prevention's besides prescriptions. That could be a whole different post! Anyways, I wanted to start a new tradition that involved making "tatter tot casserole" for New Years Eve dinner. Thankfully, my husband was able to pull off our first year of the tradition. After dinner my daughters and I made our own party hats. They were able to decorate their party hats however their hearts desired. It's a lot more fun for them instead of buying the hats, and saved us money. As the night went on mostly as planned as I was trying to truck through the horrible migraine, we played and relaxed. One by one the girls fell asleep. My husband and I were left. We both fell asleep shortly on the couch! Yup, we missed the ball drop. I'm okay with that though, there's always next year.

New Years day was spent as family time. We started another new tradition , baking a New Years Day cake. Along with a New Years day special dinner that consisted of bacon wrapped lil' smokies. They were a total hit with the girls. Along with our special dinner the girls had their sparkling juice in special glasses; boy did they feel on top of the world!

I feel so blessed to be able to start these new traditions with my family. I'm ready for 2013 and to see what it brings. 2012 was a year to remember like most years. This year it was filled with many emotions for my family in these four walls. Only can we take from last year and  have it make us a better person for this new year. Therefore my New Years resolution is to be selfish and focus on my family in these four walls this year. To thrive to be a stronger wife and an even better mother. What lives in these four walls are most important to me, and need my attention the most. So I am calling it selfish, hehehe!

Weekend Review

After feeling in a rut with our daily routine, it was time to get away. My husbands parents have a cabin 45 minutes north from our home, so we went to relax. Our daughters love going to the cabin. We enjoyed family time warming by the fireplace. Of course we took a hike into the woods. We wrapped Helen in the KTan wrap, and we were off.  I love treasure hunting with my girls, and enjoying God's beauty. While the girls play, I enjoy some time knitting. We don't do much when we go up there but relax. That's the whole idea though! We really enjoyed going up to the cabin, and definitely needed it. Here are the few pictures I snapped with my phone!

We zipped Helen in my coat to keep warm.

Finished my husbands hunting hat!

my new project; a washcloth for the girls! Their request. 

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend!

It's Raining Leaves!

It's raining leaves, as my three year old daughter calls it! As October fades away the leaves are now falling off the trees. As I have become an adult, enjoying the color of  leaves changing doesn't seem to last long! Before I know it, it's raining leaves and the trees are becoming bare. As a parent, I feel I can get caught in our hectic schedule's easily. Therefore this year I made sure we were more involved as a family and enjoyed the fall season. Of course, trying to make it last as long as possible.

Our lovely backyard. Well part!

Thursday we hit in the high 70 degree temperatures. We took advantage and enjoyed a nice walk. That's not normal for Michigan. We were then quickly reminded that it's the end of October with high of 49 degrees the next day, eek! Although, us Michiganders are not surprised. We joke that our weather can change in a snap of a finger. 

With our sudden change in temperature, we started off our chilly Saturday making pumpkin shaped rice krispie treats. As I mentioned in previous posts, we love baking in the kitchen. 

Picture does not do justice. 

Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients

6 cups of rice krispie cereal

1 10 0z. bag of the big marshmallows. You may use 4 cups of small marshmallows too!

3 Tablespoons of butter.

A pumpkin cookie cutter.

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a pan, add marshmallows and slowly melt.

2. In a separate bowl ad the rice krispies and the marshmallow mix together and stir. 

3.Put into any size pan you choose, I usually use a 13x9

4. I use wax paper to evenly flatten out the treats, then start cutting them out with the pumpkin cookie cutter!

Have a blessed weekend!!

The Pumpkin Jar Craft

With Halloween around the corner and our love for crafting, we decided to make lighted pumpkin jars this past weekend. The girls had so much fun. Dad was even home to join in on the fun. Here is how we did it!

My girls pumpkin jars.

The girls hard at work painting. 

The Pumpkin Jar

Tools you will need

• Mason jar; any jar would really work.
• Paint brush
• Orange paint
• Glue 
• Black construction paper
• scissors 
• glow sticks, light, or tea candle

Instructions

1. You may need to prime your mason jars before painting them orange. I did not and they started to chip!
2. Paint your jar orange and let it dry! You may paint the top a green or brown to resemble the stem. My girls did not want to. 
3. Once it's dry cut out your face with the black construction paper for your pumpkin jar. 
4. Glue your face onto your orange jar.
5. Let it sit for a couple minutes to make sure the glue is dry.
6. Once it's dark put in the glow stick, light or candle to see it glow! We used glow stick from target's dollar section! They were in a pack of two for 1.00 dollar! The glow stick last for one whole night.

Enjoy!!

Cranky Skirts!

Oh my,there were some cranky skirts today in this home! I would say cranky pants but, being a house full of girls minus my poor husband I felt cranky skirts fit better. Have you ever heard the phrase "cranky pants"? I never did till I met my husband, and he called me it one time! We all have just been on the edge today, that's for sure. It first running behind dropping Evalyn off to school. I should know whenever that happens, it's not going to be a good day by now! And how come whenever your running behind, you always seem you get stuck behind a slow car?!  Only to follow them to Evalyn's school, seriously?! The morning goes on and Vivian thinks she needs 3 different breakfasts. This is not a gourmet restaurant, I am mom. That did not make her happy; therefore threw off her day. Now I start getting her "mean face" along with, "you made me sad!" Shes our strong willed child and will push every button like she did today. So today involved crying children, fighting sisters, unhappy baby with diaper rash, not to mention they all have colds!

    I kept telling myself a nice glass of wine and some blog therapy will be lovely once the girls are in bed. Did that happen? Nope! Once the girls were all tucked in their beds, 20 minutes later Helen wakes up screaming. Ugh, I guess some days as a parent you don't get those breaks. Then surely enough walks out the middle child. Not to mention my husband was out picking me up panera. I was going to treat my evening with wine, panera and blogging. Trying to at least enjoy my panera with a fussy 14 month old a 3 year old who won't go to bed, I couldn't help anymore but do the mommy breakdown cry and went to our bedroom. I don't do this often, so my husband new I must have had a rough day.

  In the end, I ended up eating my semi warm panera on my bed in peace. Not how I planned it, oh well. My husband put the two girls back to bed for me, and now I writing this blog post! But you get these days with a house full of girls; can we say mood swings?! Lets pray tomorrow is a much better day for all of us, and for my husbands sanity!