Salt Dough Ornaments

My husband and I are starting a new tradition of buying each of our kids a new ornament every year. We like the idea of when they are grown and have their own families and their own trees, they can put their ornaments on it from their childhood years (we will only save some of them!) As I am writing this, I think it may be an good idea to do two ornaments for each kid per year, so I can keep some!

Since we are moving and grooving with our debt snowball, I decided to save the money and make ornaments with them instead. I found this super easy Salt Dough Ornament recipe from Shutterfly and they turned out great! Here are the common household items you need:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of salt
• 1 cup of water
• tiny hands/paws/feet
• paint and brushes
• string
• hot glue gun

Here are the steps below:

1. Mix the salt and the flour.

2. Add the water slowly, until you get an almost play-doh consistency when you mix it.

3. Roll it out on a floured surface, flattening it to about 1/4 inch thick.

(Harper decided to get in the Christmas spirit by scraping her nose on the sidewalk and transforming herself in to Rudolph to spread Christmas cheer... how thoughtful!)

It helps if you flour your hands prior to prevent the dough from sticking.

4. Use tiny hands and cut around them to shape the ornaments.

or feet...

or paws... or cookie cutters.

5. Put them on a cookie sheet and place them in a 170 degree oven for three hours.

While you wait for them to be done, you evaluate the mess...

...and let the kids play with the extra dough.

6. Once the ornaments are done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. Paint them to your liking and hot glue a string loop to the back. (The first ones we made were thick enough to poke a pencil through and string a loop through. The second batch was thinner so to avoid breaking the ornament I just hot glued some string on the back.) We used acrylic paint because that is what we had at our house.

7. Hang on your tree!

Have you ever made ornaments of your own? Please share with us!

Our Trip to the Corn Maze!

This past week we went to the Corn Maze at Froberg’s Farm in Alvin, Texas. (This is the same place that lets you pick your own tomatoes). This was all of our first time ever to a corn maze. 

What we liked

• The cost. At $6 per person for hours of fun, that’s hard to beat! There is no time limit nor how many times you can actually do the maze. So for a small price you can have fun all day!

• No crowds. We went on a Monday around lunchtime, and we were the only people on the corn field. It was a-MAZE-ing. Haha!

• Cleanliness. There was hardly any trash out in the corn maze. Which is good because if there was, Beau would've been trying to pick it all up! Pass the sanitizer please!

• Picnic lunch. Froberg's has this great spot under some old oak trees for a picnic. Each time we've gone we pack our lunches, which is healthy and a money saver.

What we didn't like:

• Frobergs is in Alvin. We are in Kingwood/ Huffman. So it takes an hour to get there. Now, the drive itself is not bad (59S to 288 to HWY 6) but it is a gas buster for sure.

• Keeping up with the kids. We had to basically chase after our kids the first time because they were so excited! And since it is a maze, we weren't comfortable with just letting them loose and hoping they would find their way out! (in a few years...) 

Daniel brought a notebook and the kids took turns drawing out maps of the maze and we would sort of play follow the leader (whoever had the 'map'). That seemed to entertain the kids.

If you're planning a trip to the corn maze, here is what I recommend you bring:

1. Notebook/ Clipboard and a writing utensil
2. Bug spray (the mosquitoes were horrible!)
3. Binoculars
4. Wagon (for the littles)
5. Lunch/Water

Have you visited a corn maze? Share your experience with us!

30 Days of Grateful Giving

Join us for the 30 Days of Grateful Giving November Challenge!

We think November is the perfect time to help our kids grow their gratitude and kindness, so we've created this challenge as a fun way to make a daily act of kindness a priority all month long.

Choose 30 acts of kindness from the list below. You can simply print off the list, or for extra fun, write each act you choose on a feather. We plan to have our kids choose a feather to determine the act of kindness for the day. When the act is completed, they can add the feather to their Kindness Turkey. So at the end of the month, the turkey will be full of feathers from all the acts of kindness!

1. Donate puzzles and/or books to a library
2. Donate books/magazines to waiting rooms
3. Make a card for a friend/relative and mail it to them
4. Take baked goods to a neighbor
5. Collect canned goods from your neighbors and donate to a food pantry

6. Bring a treat and a nice note to one of your Sunday school teachers/ helpers

7. Give a gift to the trash guys (gatorade, water, chips, baked goods, etc.)

8. Send a care package to a soldier or someone away from home

9. Write a thank you note and/or leave a treat for the mailman
10. Send someone flowers
11. Read to a younger sibling
12. Write a thank-you card to someone you appreciate
13. Hold the door for someone
14. Take dinner to a friend/neighbor
15. Bring goodies to an office/workplace
16. Give an extra meal or a blanket to a homeless person
17. Bake cookies for your local fire department
18. Make Kindness Rocks
19. Donate school supplies
20. Donate crayons and coloring books to a hospital waiting room
21. Tape microwave popcorn to a Redbox machine
22. Pick up trash
23. Give someone a compliment
24. Make a card for a hospitalized child Cards for Kids
25. Sign up for free "You Matter Cards" to give out during the month of November
26. Send a thank-you letter to a soldier
27. Collect "Cents for Service"
28. Fill a "Give Back Box"
29. Hide coupons in the grocery store next to the item it's for
30. Do another family member's chore
31. Give a treat to the bank teller
32. Feed the birds
33. Return someone's cart at the store
34. Pass out stickers to kids waiting in line
35. Sing songs at a nursing home
36. Pass out candy canes with the Story of the Candy Cane attached
37. Donate socks and supplies to a homeless shelter
38. Let someone go ahead of you in line
39. Bury "treasure" at the playground for someone else to find
40. Plant something

Keep a gratitude journal and record one thing you're thankful for each day!

Halloween Slime

We have been making slime at our house! Not only is it easy and inexpensive to make, it's not as messy as I originally thought it would be!

Since Halloween is right around the corner, here is a little spooky slime recipe you can use with your kiddos!

Here are the supplies you need: (I found this recipe from Little Bins for Little Hands)

• Borax
• Glue
• Warm Water
• Food coloring
• Plastic spiders

In a bowl, pour in 1/2 cup of glue and 1/2 cup of warm water. Stir it up! 

Add in your spiders and food coloring of choice!

Mix it up!

Make your secret slime ingredient by mixing 1/2 teaspoon of Borax in 1/2 cup of warm water. Once mixed, pour it in to the glue mixture.

Stir it up to make slime!

Ahhhh! Halloween Slime!!!!

Welcome Switch Witch!

Every family has traditions, and the Switch Witch is one of ours. I first heard about this concept from my sister-in-law, who lived overseas at the time. I immediately fell in love with the idea and adapted it to meet our family's needs. In our house, we don't eat artificial food dyes and colorings, and that used to be problematic for my daughter around Halloween, when there is candy, candy everywhere. So after I heard about the Switch Witch, who comes and takes candy and leaves toys, I found a book at the library called "The Sugar Witch Switch." We read the book together and she loved it! Over the years, she has developed her own ideas about the Switch Witch, and the accepted belief in my house is that she melts down all the candy to help build her sugar city. My kids have great fun deciding what she will build with the different candies they put in the boxes, with ideas ranging from castles to libraries!
My daughter was around 3 when we first started the Switch Witch, and my two boys have never known Halloween any other way. When October rolls around, the kids get super excited to decorate their Switch Witch boxes.

It's just an accepted fact that all the "dye candy" goes into the Switch Witch box. Even my newly-turned 3 year-old will show me candy and ask, "This candy for Switch Witch?" I rarely have trouble or complaints about not getting to eat the candy. Although I do occasionally "trade" them for an organic piece of candy, they really just accept that candy is a "sometimes treat" and not something to eat all the time, even during October, and that in our family we don't eat dye.
So, instead, they enjoy preparing for the Switch Witch and sorting their candy as they get it. On Halloween night, they sort their candy into a "Switch Witch" pile and a "good" pile. Out of the "good" pile, they each choose 5 pieces to keep, and the rest of it goes into the boxes along with the Switch Witch pile.
They leave the boxes by the front door on Halloween night, and in the morning the candy has been replaced with presents from the Switch Witch, as a way to say thank you for the candy.  She usually leaves us art supplies and books.

Where does all that candy go? Well, in our house, it goes to my mom, who drives a school bus, and she mostly hands it out to the kids on her bus route. There's plenty of places to bring your candy, though, if you think the Switch Witch is right for your family. In our neighborhood, there are a couple of dentists who accept leftover Halloween candy, and then send it to American troops overseas. You can find a dentist near you that participates or send it yourself through Operation Gratitude.

Let's Focus

Essential Oils for Concentration & Focus

You've just walked in the door and the familiar battle begins. The phrase "Time to start your homework!" brings with it an hours-long struggle, with tears, frustration, and yelling--on both sides. Or maybe you're beginning to dread your homeschool curriculum. What should be a short activity drags on indefinitely, as your child fidgets and squirms, unable to follow your directions. Maybe you've gotten a note home from the teacher or you've noticed your child struggling to concentrate during study time.

If any of this is you, read on!

I've got some simple essential oil recipes to calm the tears and help your child to get focused and stay focused!

There are tons of different essential oils and oil combinations, but these are a few of my personal favs for enhancing and sustaining focus and getting motivated!
Rosemary is warm, herby oil, and is known for reducing nervous tension and promoting concentration.
Peppermint smells like a cool candy cane, and it is fantastic for energy boosting and alleviating feelings of fatigue.
Lemon, or any citrus oil, promotes positive feelings and is uplifting and energizing.
Cinnamon oil is warm and spicy, and smells like fall. It's great for motivation and focus.

Either one of these diffuser blends is a great place to start if you're struggling with the Homework Wars. Try both and see which works best for your child, or make your own combo using the suggested oils.

Bonus Recipe! One of my go-to combos to diffuse in the morning is Peppermint and Wild Orange. It's super energizing and great way to get going and feel ready to take on the day!

DIY Laser Focus Spray

2 oz spray bottle

3 drops Peppermint

2 drops Rosemary

2 drops Wild Orange or Lemon

Mix oils together in spray bottle and

fill with water.

Have your child spray as needed during study or homework time.

Want to try this for yourself and need oils? Get our recommended brand here!

(We recommend buying your doTERRA products only from trusted sources, NEVER from Amazon or Ebay, in order to ensure quality and purity.)

Fun with SideWalk Chalk!

Let's talk about outside time. My Father's World curriculum recommends at least 30 minutes of outside time per day, which I think is great, not only for the kids but for myself. To go and get fresh air after being inside all day is really refreshing. A lot of times we walk to our neighborhood park, but that is an adventure in itself, packing everything up and usually, by the time we walk there, one of us is ready to go (normally me)! Sometimes it is easier to stay home and get our outside time in the backyard. Sure, it is easy to picture me and the kids frolicking around my backyard, watching butterflies, listening to birds chirp, while Harper and I cheer Beau on as he does flips on the trampoline... but that's not real. Here is what is real: we live in Texas and it's hot. Even in October, it is still 90 degrees out. And my backyard? Ha! I would say I have a patch of nice grass, but the rest has land mines of dog poo and lord knows what else. Since those are not the best conditions to let your almost one year old and four year old play around in, we have shifted our outside time to our long shady driveway, and sidewalk chalk is perfect for that activity. I love sidewalk chalk because it is super inexpensive, not too messy, and can provide hours of fun! We store our sidewalk chalk in old dishwasher pod plastic containers. These work great because they protect the chalk from the weather elements since we just leave them out on a bench on the side of our driveway. 

I recently discovered sidewalk chalk holders and they have changed my life. I got two from Target for like 80 cents on clearance!

Here are some fun games we play with sidewalk chalk:

Tic-Tac-Toe

We gathered sticks for the X's and rocks for the O's.

Find the Number

I write a number on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. Beau then finds objects around of that many number. See we have two shoes, two pinecones, etc.

Sound Off

I first say a letter and Beau has to write it (pictured here letter A). Then, we discuss what the sound of that letter means and things that begin with that letter. Then we each pick one of those things and draw it.

A is for Alligator

A is for Apple (Beau's drawing)

B is for Bird 

B is for Banana (Beau's drawing)

Sidewalk Simon (originally seen on Life as Mama)

See it in action!

Sidewalk Obstacle Course (originally seen on Life as Mama)

Do you have any fun sidewalk chalk games? Let us know on social media!

~Julie