I’m so excited to bring you this Valentine’s Day activity, which is part of Toddler Approved’s 100 Acts of Kindness Project! My inspiration was Christina Perri’s Jar of Hearts - a melancholy song about a tortured break up - but this activity is about recognizing love and kindness in another and creatively expressing thanks for that person’s [...]
In the middle of all our Valentine’s Day crafting madness, both kids came down with their first stomach bug, so the posts have been slow as of late. The good news is that we discovered a new sensory play activity for our Fun With Food! series. Ingredients 2 packets of Jello water 13 x 9 [...]
This Old Fashioned Apple Crisp was one of the yummiest desserts I’ve made. We served it in individual ramekins, along with our Caramelized Upside Down Pear Tarte Tatin for Thanksgiving dinner, and it’s my new homemade favorite. Ingredients For the filling: 5 pounds McIntosh or Macoun apples (I used Granny Smith) Grated zest of 1 orange Grated zest [...]
On the days when the screeching and screaming won’t stop, the t.v. no longer holds their interest, Hubby’s not home to help me round up the rebels, and I just really really really want to get rid of them, I throw Jane and Sam in the bathtub with some shaving foam and a few drops [...]
For years, I have been obsessed with living in a grand New York apartment with a wall full of beautifully colorful frames like Ingrid Bergman’s in the film Indiscreet (one of my favorites): Source: google.com via Corley on Pinterest I’ve given up that dream, but still have an itch to create some kind of frame-decorated wall. Like this heart-shaped gallery [...]
After the Make Your Own Monster Gift Kit post, which featured some monster-themed gift ideas, some of you asked what themed gifts Sam received for his pirate-themed birthday party, so here you go! My favorite was this awesome set of pirate-themed gifts from our young hipster couple friends who picked up this cool booty from local [...]
My new header and buttons are up! Thanks so much to Thanh of Thanh Design for the fabulous blog styling! If you’ve been featured on the blog, please feel free to grab one of these lovely buttons (grab the code here): {Play} {Bake} [...]
For someone who’s so nostalgic about everything, I’m surprised at how much I’m looking forward to 2012. But before I get busy jumping ahead, here’s my favorite play post from 2011: Colorful Ice Cube Painting We got so messy, but we had so much fun! Jane was in heaven with the different textures and [...]
I was nauseated for most of the holidays, which was great for me because I lost six pounds, but horrible because I couldn’t make or shop for presents and stocking stuffers or properly prep for all the festivities. It would have been totally awful except that I have these wonderfully fond memories to laugh back [...]
Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.walgreens.com/beauty. My name is Chrissy and I’m a drugstore junkie. I’ve been hitting up drugstores since I was in sixth grade. It began with me scouring the shelves for the [...]
I’m so excited to be sharing with you the activity for Day 23 of the Creative Christmas Countdown: Play A Card Game! One of Jane’s favorite games is the iPhone Toy Story 3 Memory App. She’s already mastered the Easy Level and isn’t fazed at all by the Medium Level. To break her away [...]
We’ve been having lots of fun making ornaments, like these Recycled Paper Ornaments, these Sequin Ornaments, and these sparkly, painted, and filled ornaments, and we’re still on a roll! I’m sure you’ve seen this stunning thumbtack wreath from Madigan Made Source: madiganmade.com via TheOutlawMom on Pinterest or these thumbtack trees around blogland. As an experiment, I wanted to see if Jane [...]
{Celebrate} Valentine’s Day | Fun With Jello!
{Bake} Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
{Play} Bathtub Painting
{Craft} Our New Gallery Wall
{Live} New Year, New Look, New Link Party, New Giveaway!
{Play} Best Toddler Activity Of 2011
{Live} Our Holiday In Quotes
{Live} All I Want For Christmas
{Play} Family Memory Game
{Celebrate} Homemade For The Holidays | Toddler Thumbtack Ornaments
October 8, 2011 in All Posts, Places, Reviews
You know my favorite season is fall, but you probably didn’t know that my favorite “holiday” is Halloween! How could it not be, when it’s the one “holiday” that colorfully ushers in all of the upcoming season’s festivities? Once it hits, you know you’re in the thick of crisp fall fun and heading full throttle [...]
August 16, 2011 in All Posts, Live, Outlaw Posts, Places, Reviews
Every family has that one story. You know, like our dad friend who traveled with his four sick kids on a transatlantic flight and had to sit in a layered mess of spit-up, vomit and diarrhea for the entire flight while he tended to his brood single-handedly. After today, if there was any doubt whether we’re [...]
May 7, 2011 in All Posts, Live, Places, Reviews
I finally was able to make good on my promise to take Jane to feed koi fish! We visited an old favorite Saratoga spot of mine from childhood: Hakone Gardens. This is a great place to see and feed the carp and visit a beautifully landscaped Japanese Garden (a nicer, calmer atmosphere than Kelley Park). But [...]
March 5, 2011 in All Posts, Live, Places, Reviews
Jane has an elephant’s memory for promises and usually reminds me, “It’s a promise,” when I ask if she wants to do something. She doesn’t stop reminding me of the promise until it’s completed. Last week I promised her we would see koi fish on the way home from SFO, but the San Mateo Garden Center [...]
February 3, 2011 in All Posts, Places, Products, Reviews
A godsend when I was in college and needed to cheaply outfit my pad with a what-was-then-thought-to-be cool aesthetic of modern, colorful furniture, rugs and unnecessary knickknacks, my-oh-my did I fail to see that this was just the TIP of the Ikea iceberg! If you have no idea where to take the kids on a [...]
