family

Oh, I just LOVE this free download from Eighteen25….a calendar, to-do list, and menu planner all in one! Very handy indeed! It’s an 11×14 size, so you can have it printed and frame it, then use a dry erase marker to update it monthly. Click on the photo to check it out.

As you can tell, I like to celebrate the big, and small, things in life. My son’s last day at his daycare, his beloved home away from home is today. We made cupcakes together Thursday night for his going away party, and he painted pictures for his teacher and I helped him write his friend’s names on cards to go along with their presents: books about starting a new school.

My sister in-law, Franziska, a German gal, has introduced me to another way to celebrate that transition to “big kid” school: the Schultute, or Zuckertute as she grew up calling them. Translated, it means “sugar bag”; a bag full of goodies given to children on their first day of  entering school, generally in the first grade.

It’s not all about the treat bag, it’s a whole day full of family and neighbor celebrations and fun. The older kids at school put on a play, the family goes to school together for the day. But the Zuckertute is the most fun part of the day for most kids! You can read some articles here and here about Zuckertuten, but I thought I’d show you a couple of them.

Mein Noah!

Here is my wonderful nephew Noah, in front of his new school, showing off the sweet Zuckertute that Giga (Franziska’snick name) put together for him from a kit she got in Germany. It’s huge and so fun…and since I don’t have a handy-dandy kit from Germany, I set out to make my own for Nate’s first day of Pre-K!

The blank canvas

I started out with a black piece of posterboard, and the biggest stamps I ha: the pirates! Argh!

Jolly Roger

Using a foam brush and some craft paint, I painted the stamps and proceeded to stamp the posterboard with all three stamps, different colors for each.

Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate zuckertute for me!

Gold paint for the treasure chest, matey.

Rolled up like a deuce, captain

After letting it dry overnight, I rolled the posterboard into a cone shape and secured the edges with lots and lots of glue dots.

Argh, a black hole!

Then I taped the inside with packing tape, along the seams, for extra security.

Preparing for surgery

I laid the cone on the bed, seam side up, and squished it a bit, and started cutting off the top, to make it even.

Oops

My first cut was a bit slanted….

Round one

…but after a few trims…

Round two

…and more eyeballing…

Yes!

We achieved an even, perfect (almost) top.

Tissue topper

I took three pieces of coordinating tissue paper and taped them together just at the bottom.

Stuffed

I stuffed the taped bottom parts of the tissue paper into the top of the cone and secured the paper to the cone with packing tape. I also stuffed a piece of red tissue paper into the bottom since the bottom of the cone was a bit larger than intended.

All secure

Me pirate booty

Here’s the hodge podge of goodies for the zuckertute: a sweet Yoda shirt, bath color tablets, Hot Wheels….like he needs more…tic tacs, Super Why stickers, and a R2D2 and C3PO pencil case with pencils and a sharpener.

Stuffed

Yoda on top to surprise my pirate!

Finishing touches

I grabbed five coordinating ribbons to use to tie off the Zuckertute.

All ready for me matey!

We will have to wait a week before giving this to Nate, and I just might find more goodies to stuff inside or decorations to further adorn the Zuckertute, but I just LOVE how it turned out! I’ll be sure to let you all know what he thinks when he sees it.

A while ago, I asked you guys for affordable and fun date ideas. I was working on a top-secret project and needed some input. Well, I’d meant to share the outcome with you guys MONTHS ago, and completely forgot to do so…until today!

Aaron and I celebrated out 12^th anniversary in April, and I wanted to do a different sort of present. Like many couples out there, we don’t have a standing date night and find it hard to prioritize couple time. I was inspired by an idea I found on My Mix of Six where she made envelopes for each month and filled each with a date night idea. Some were simple or free, others accompanied with a gift card or tickets to an event.

This idea was one after my own heart….all sorted out and neatly organized, just grab and go! And I loved the fact that it was planned, so that the only thing we have to decide is which day will work the best.

I had grand ideas of making beautiful magazine paper envelopes and filling them with gorgeous letters embellished with stickers, stamps and ink…but really. Really! So the night before I just grabbed some envelopes at work and used my icky handwriting and jotted some notes about what was in store for the month and stuffed the paper in handwritten envelopes. It’s real, people!

I gave them to Aaron and told him what they were, but that he could only open them on the first of each month. He seemed very into it, and said he appreciated me taking the time to think of 12 fun dates for us. And honestly, I can’t remember what I chose for each month, so it will be a surprise for me most of the time also!

So far, for May’s date we hit some yard sales. We did hit one really good yard sale and although Nate was with us at least we went! June went by so terribly fast that we missed Back to the Future at the Movies in the Park. But Nate and I did catch Kung Fu Panda….huh, I’m seeing a disturbing trend here. And July? Well, I forgot all about the envelopes until a few days ago. According to the instructions we are supposed to go on a early morning bike ride and finish up with breakfast at McD’s, just like we did before Nate came along. We’ve got one weekend left. That might bleed into August.

Here are some pictures of the envelopes. Let me know if you have any more great date night ideas!

Since we are on the other side of the 4th of July, and since the stores are putting out their back to schools displays, I guess it’s fair to say summer is drawing to a close. Sad, I know, but inevitable.

I think this year Nate might have his first lemonade stand. I was about his age when we started having stands in our neighborhood. And being me, I decided to research tips on the web for having the best lemonade stand. The number one priority is to have fun, but I’m all about tips and best practices!

The Lemonade Stand Guide on JuniorBiz  tells you step by step what you need for a successful stand. If your kids are older, let them read it themselves…it’s an easy to understand and practical guide to help them develop good business sense.

Use social networking to your child’s lemonade stand advantage! Post the date of your lemonade stand on Facebook or Twitter and ask your friends and family to stop by. If your child would like to use their lemonade stand to raise money for a favorite charity, be sure to mention it in your post to boost your donations. Consider raising funds for your child’s school or animal shelter,  or a national organization like Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, founded by Alexandra Scott, which has raised more than $30 million dollars for pediatric cancer since 2004.

I discovered the Mckmama blog a few years ago, and, as a mother of only one, have been constantly amazed with her ability to manage soon-to-be five kids under five. I know, wow, right?

A few weeks ago I found a post titled “Discipline and MSC”(many small children,) at a time when I needed some new directions to go with my approach to child rearing. You know those days, when you can’t believe what just came out of your mouth as you tried to get your child’s attention…I was not 4.5 years old, but man, I sure acted like it.

Leaning on lessons learned as she raised and managed her littles, she share advice on avoiding  situations that trigger poor behavior, making expectations clear, and something that I have already used in my daily dealings with Nate…extinction. Sounds scary, but really, it’s quite funny….and she’s provided an audio bite to go along with it.

I highly recommend printing out the post and sharing it with your spouse. You are bound to learn at least one tidbit of new information.

On that note, do you have an discipline and MSC technique to share? Leave me a comment with your nugget of wisdom or a link to someone else with some wise words. I’d love to hear what you have to say!

For the SAHMs out there, I imagine there is a point where you wonder to yourself how you can keep your kid’s intellect sharp and ready for the next school year, while letting them actually have a summer break. Julie, a guest blogger at How Does She?, has designed a simple system of fun learning that focuses on four principles: taking care of our spirits, body, space and minds. The best part is that at lunch, they drop what they are doing and go back into full-on summer mode. Click here for her post about her family of six and how her kids really enjoy this special mom time.

I’m sure if you did not see Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution this past spring, that you heard about it. Honestly, I did not see it, but I totally support Jamie’s campaign to save the health of Americans through food. From the Food Revolution website:

This food revolution is about saving America’s health by changing the way you eat. It’s not just a TV show, it’s a movement for you, your family and your community. If you care about your kids and their future take this revolution and make it your own. Educate yourself about food and cooking. Find out what your child is eating at school. Make only a few small changes and magical things will happen. Switching from processed to fresh food will not only make you feel better but it will add years to your life.

On the website, they have Tool kits you can use to help you bring better nutrition into your home and schools. One toolkit is a .pdf with simple meals to make with your kids.  I thought, what a great project for the summer! Cooking with your kids, for any meal, at least one day each week. Make real food with real ingredients, and help them to appreciate what their hands can make.

My four year old might not be ready to wield a knife, but he does stir eggs and pancake batter, and LOVES to make banana bread with me. He is a huge fan of meatballs….I think he would love to help me make Jamie’s meatballs and pasta. I’ll let you know how it turns out, and you do the same! Happy cooking…

Jordan of Oh Happy Day!, guest contributor at Alphamom, shares how to create the perfect gift for the super-hero in your life for Father’s Day…a snack box from the “Super Hero Supply Company”! The best part is you really only need to make a trip to the grocery store for the goodies! Click on the photo for the tutorial and free downloads of the hero labels.

UPDATE:
My friend Angie and her son loved the idea of a super hero snack gift, so they decided to make dad some munchies  for Father’s Day. They used scrapbook paper and supplies, and her son’s artistic talent and sense of humor, to make labels for some of her husband’s favorite foods.  I just cracked up when she sent me the picture….it was PERFECT! Thanks for sharing, Angie!

I am usually a mega planner, knowing exactly what we are going to do daily and during which time slot. But sometimes, and this is hard for me, I have to be spontaneous. I have a seemingly never-ending list of fun activities and almost no free time, and when we do have a few spare hours I always forget what is on that list. That’s when Nate ends up on the Xbox for a bit and I’ll do something no fun, like cleaning or laundry. What a horrible way to spend the weekend! And with summer upon us, the need for entertainment can become dire.

But here’s a cure for the never-knowing-what-to-do times: a summer fun container! Thanks to Becky of Clean Mama, the purveyor of said wonderful idea, we have the instructions on how to make sure there is always a fun idea waiting to be acted upon. You can find her tutorial here, but here’s my take.

I used her list as a jumping off point and while Nate was in the bath, I sat next to the tub and we discussed what would be some fun things for us to do. I made a few additions to the list, typed it on the computer using my own font and printed it out on some paper:

Let the fun begin!

Here’s a .pdf if you want a copy for your own self - summer_fun_list

I didn’t have any oatmeal canisters hanging around, so I grabbed a salsa jar to hold the slips of paper.  I found a sticker that was perfect and some matching ribbon to tie on the neck of the bottle. I printed the ideas, cut them into strips and stuffed the jar!

Just waiting to be used at the next moment of boredom.

I can see adding many other outings and ideas to this list in the future…some new ideas have already come to mind as I’ve sat here typing…and I’m really looking forward to some new ideas for quality time with my family.

Ever celebrated May Day? Nope? Me either! But I love a good holiday, and seeing as it is tomorrow, why not start now?

I talked to my SIL Franziska, a German gal, earlier this week about how the Germans celebrate the holiday. She told me different regions have various traditions, but generally Walpurgis Nacht is celebrated on April 30 with bonfires to chase away evil and dark spirits (and the youngins go out partying,) then the next morning May Day is celebrated with lots of outdoor activities, maypoles and parades. She said that every year, her parents will go hiking on May Day to celebrate. How wonderful…a holiday that encourages you to go out of doors! Something we could all do more, no?

In America, people decorate baskets of flowers and treats and leave them on their neighbor’s porches. That is reason enough to celebrate May Day in my book. Check out my good ol’ standby family craft blog Skip to my Lou for some easy ideas on how to make flower baskets to help you celebrate this holiday. Happy May Day! Now get outside…if it’s not pouring down rain.