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.
This $1000 dragon puts regular ol’ rocking horses to shame
Hey, so, here’s the deal: if 20 of us throw in $50 each, we can all go in on this $1000 dragon. Maybe it can be a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants kind of thing, but instead of a pair of jeans that magically looks good on each of us, it’ll be a four foot tall stuffed dragon our kids can play on.
Supporting our daughters as they define what femininity means to them
I don’t want to raise my daughter thinking that this is what it means to be a lady — that the prevailing pink culture is what defines femininity. I want her to know it’s okay to get muddy, that it’s alright to wear Mutant Ninja Turtle shoes if she wants because these things won’t make her any less a girl.
Raaaaaawr: it’s a stomping good collection of dinosaur-themed fun
Let’s talk about DINOSAURS! It’s been nearly a year since the beloved but extinct relation of birds was mentioned on Families, so it’s probably time. If your house is anything like mine and there’s a toddler or preschooler running around, the odds are likely fairly high that you’re already spending your fair share of time mulling over this creatures with your kids ANYWAY. Here are a few awesome dino-themed products I found that will interest the young and not-as-young alike.
Let’s get real: I decorated my kid’s room for myself
My almost four-year-old recently achieved a huge milestone: he finally has his own room. When I asked him what color he wanted his room to be, he said black (it’s his favorite). When I asked what he wanted on the walls, he said black things. When I asked if he still wanted his thrifted Harry Potter blanket, he said ok, but he wanted black everything else. I politely and sweetly smiled at him, told him there was no way my preschooler was going to have an all-black room.
DIY marshmallow shooters for kids of all ages
I know some big kids, aka supposed grown-ups, who will be high-tailing it to the hardware store to get s’more supplies for these marshmallow shooters. (Ha! See what I did there?) Then your advanced marshmallow weaponry is easy to load and laughter-inducing to unload. Find out how to make your very own marshmallow arsenal…
SO MUCH PINK: Mr. Bubble-themed bathroom
Memories of my childhood include long, long bubble baths with Mr. Bubble and my color-changing Hot Wheels. I always wanted a pink Mr. Bubble bathroom when I moved out of my parents house, so here it is…
My son found my Barbie, said she was pretty, and turned her into a space explorer
I don’t want my son to find a Barbie doll pretty. I want him to understand, even at three, that she is not an accurate representation of a woman’s body. This is ridiculous, I know, but it’s not stopping from getting all excited about this teachable moment we’re having.