A play kitchen built from a salvaged cabinet
I made this play kitchen for my boyfriend’s nephew Henry, who is pictured above investigating his new present. I got the idea from this kitchen I saw on Young House Love.
A pictorial scavenger hunt for happier walks
Our son Noah had been getting fussy sometimes during our family walks, especially if he wasn’t walking our dog. It took a while, but finally it occurred to me that he’s sometimes excluded from our conversations.
Stuffed Animal Hospital: an indoor toy wash activity for rainy days
As spring weather of intermittent cold peppered with rain continues to downpour in our area, I struggle to find indoor appropriate activities for two plucky (bored and fighty) toddlers. I’ll spend afternoon coffee breaks Googling indoor activities to keep the stir-crazy levels to a slow mix rather than the full-blown pulverize we get once the kids have been held in weather related house arrest for more than a day or two.
We spent most of Spring Break tie-dying as a family
This past week was March Break for elementary school kids here in Ontario. This year the weather was not really conducive to playing outside much (especially when one kid is a toddler who is barely walking); at the start of the week it was warm and everything became wet and muddy, and then later in the week temperatures plunged and it was cold and icy. So I endeavored to entertain my girls indoors with trips to local children’s hot spots. Most places had extra events and staff for the Break. But you can’t run your kids’ little legs off all day, so we also broke out some new crafts. The favourite of the week was tie-dying.
How to make your own galloping horse on a stick
Have you ever woken up one day and thought, “Today: this is the day I will finally DIY a horse head on a stick and take it for a gallop around the neighborhood”? WELL IF YOU HAVEN’T, then this GIF is pretty much guaranteed to make you want to.
Make your own indoor sandbox to combat the dreary weather blues
My nineteen-month-old children can’t actually say that they’re bored yet, but it’s pretty easy to tell when they are. This week the city of Toronto has been a giant slushy and the minions haven’t made it outside much: at daycare or at home. Even prison inmates get yard time, and after more than a day without outdoor play, someone’s going to get shanked in their cell… err, crib.
How to spend $5 or less and make your own back seat mirror for your car
A back seat mirror can run you $10-20 on a regular day, but why spend all of that if you can spend $5 (or LESS) and make your own? I originally tried this out using hot glue, which I advise against (it melts) — but now I’ve got all the kinks worked out, and this mirror works like a dream.
Bath time + Valentine’s Day = an awesome mess-free, water-friendly craft
I set up the fun bath for my two preschool-aged children by tracing foam hearts on the walls around the tub using bath crayons. Inside the hearts, I wrote short words and phrases, very similar to the candy hearts you can buy around Valentine’s Day.