welcome to crayon town

My good friend Darlene has a crayon town. In her carport.  The little area is all recyclable refrigerator boxes which you can snag from Home Depot for FREE.  Then grab scissors for the windows and doors, crayons, and a little shipping tape to create tunnels and help the town stay standing.  Let the kiddies play, crawl, and draw while you sit and reeee-lax.  Check out these soy crayons or eco-friendly recycled star crayons.  Happy coloring.

Click

Janae snagged a cool kiddie pink camera for her 4th birthday. Her Papa bought her this Vtech KidiZoom at Walmart for $39. She loves the sounds it makes with each picture snap, adores the fun photo frames you can add to each pic, and I am amazed at how easy it is to use. It also has games and comes with a baby pink USB cord. Digital cameras are eco-friendly when you compare them to the plastic disposable ones. You can reuse them, print only what you love, and there's less packaging. Click.

Carbon Free Kiddie Fun

What can you do outside with the tykes that's fun, inexpensive and carbon free?

1. Take a 15 minute walk around the block. Bring a brown paper bag to collect interesting flowers and rocks.
2. Sell lemonade in the neighborhood. Use eco-friendly cups and organic juice.
3. Bike to a local park. Play and ride home.
4. Make mud pies and water the garden using the pool water.
5. Summer sprinkles? Throw on the rain gear and let them splash.

Become a kiddietips fan on Facebook and be a friend on Twitter.

Green Thumbs

I thought we had brown thumbs. But it's been confirmed. They are green. The girls and I have ventured into gardening. And to prove our worthiness, we have eaten some pole beans, made pink peonies flower madly, and yesterday we saw itty bity baby cucumbers, lettuce and squash taking up space. Not bad for 2, 3 and 30 something year olds. I'll come clean. The pole beans, cucumbers and squash were sprouts but we did grow the lettuce from a seed. We used organic gardening soil to re-pot the sprouts and planted the lettuce in veggie pots. You can buy organic seeds online here. The girls love watering the plants and veggies and Janae really likes to pick and eat the beans. We used veggie pots to keep it easy but here are 7 tips to planting an organic garden. We're still waiting for the carrots to sprout. Hmmm...too late?

Follow kiddietips on Twitter, Facebook and on the blog site.

Free Stuff to Do

Oh how I love free kid stuff. This past week we did two fun, entertaining, free events with the girls. At 10am, we went to our local Regal Cinema for a free kid movie - they offer this three days a week on multiple screens with two flick choices. Janae was engrossed. Belle got a little restless so I bought some popcorn. She stood, munched, watched and talked. Luckily the lady in front of me had a two year old in her lap so she didn't mind Belle's chomping and muttering in her ear. Afterwards, they gave us Costco waters, oranges, and coupons to Charlie Safari. It gets better. Outside there was complimentary huge inflatable slide. We also went to our local elementary school for the playground pals program for kids ages 2-12. Here's the schedule: free hot lunch, playground time, art and crafts, guest speakers, snack time, and playground time. All free and staffed. Check your local school district for similiar programs.

Make your Dough

Kate Gosselin actually inspired me to do this. And with the tough economic times I figured I should try. Yes, I made my own dough. Edible playdough. The ingredient's are simple: 1/2 cup of peanut butter (I used Skippy's Natural Extra Chunky), 1/2 cup powdered milk (I used powdered buttermilk), 2/3 tbsp honey, and a little flour. Mix and start playing. Janae was a fan but Belle spit it out. They did have fun slicing it with mini cookie cutters and plastic knives. You could also buy some eco-dough by eco-kids. It's not edible but it's made from plant, fruit and veggie extracts. And you can order it free of gluten, dairy and soy. Now, go play.

Online Scrapper

I am a millennium mommy. I only scrap online at Shutterfly and I love it. I started hard scrapping with all the colored paper, photo book binders, cutters, and pictures in 2004. And it not only broke my wallet but my space. I just never had the room I needed to spread out. I have created at least seven photo books online in the last three years. I make one each year of my family and then every other year I make one for the grandparents as Christmas presents. I get creative with what I can't physically paste into the book. For instance, I took photos of Belle's hospital birth card and the hospital menu, changed both into a sepia tone and placed them in the photo book. I also took Belle's welcome baby cards and typed the welcome message as text next to these pictures. Not the same but hey it works. It's also more eco-friendly to online scrap. Less paper. Since I blog each month about the growth and giggles of the girls I add some of my blog notes as text to the books as well. It's amazing how creative you can get with these!

Take a Hike

Looking for something eco-friendly and fun to do with the kids this spring or summer? How about taking a hike or a camping trip at your national park? Check this site out for a map of all the US parks. Some parks have short paved hiking trails (bring your stroller) or day hikes for older kids. There's nothing like being outside with your family, enjoying nature, looking at the birds, rocks, mountains, beautiful scenery, AND getting some exercise. Plus if you live in Washington State, any day with a sun peek, is a good day to get out of the casa. The Washington's National Fund for instance provides a healthy list of kid friendly activities at the three national parks in Washington. Some tips on hiking with the wee ones: dress for the weather, pack lunches and a first aid kit, bring a magnifying glass for inspecting bugs and rocks, and hike at their pace. More tips here!

Move that body!

Just 30-60 minutes a day. I take the girls to the park or somewhere to get some EXERCISE every day. Living in Washington State with the most finicky weather doesn't help. To keep it exciting for me, we go to a new park each time or a new play area. I always pack a lunch and after they play for awhile, we eat at the picnic table and then they play some more. The girls play so much, that the afternoon doze off hits them when they get strapped in their car seats. If the oldest Janae won't sleep, I inform her that it's officially quiet time. No talking. As you may know, kid's who exercise have stronger bones, lower blood pressure an are less likely to be overweight. Here's more info on the kiddie movement.

California Dreamin'

I love California. Well I love the sun. So anywhere boasting 70-80 degree weather for the most of the year is my friend. There's a eco-friendly line my sister-in-law introduced to me called California Baby. With a name like that, I had to try. The good thing is their products are Sodium Lauryl Sulfate free and there are plenty of fragrance free items. I bought the Super Sensitive Bubble Bath at Target, the girls LOVE the bubbles and Belle's eczema has subsided. It also comes with a bubble wand so the wee ones can blow bubbles which apparently keep the bath water warm 15 minutes longer. Organize your bathtub toys with this inexpensive storage unit.

Pink Power

Janae loves pink. What three year old girl doesn't? She loves pink so much she has to wear the color everyday. Recently she added purple to her palette of on demand colors. It's maddening. Especially because I don't like pink. At all. Her Grandma bought her the book Pinkalicious by Elizabeth Kahn for Christmas and it has only confirmed her love for pink. We also found Purplalicious at the library last month. The gift that keeps giving. All said, the books are funny, cute, memorable and I love reading them to her. Pinkalicious is about a girl who eats so many pink cupcakes she wakes up the next day and she is pink all over - her hair, face and legs. "I was beautiful, " Pinkalicious says. "Even my tears were pink." There is also a Musical showing in select cities. I am waiting for Kahn to write about my favorite color - Orangalicious. Happy reading.

Silly Teeth

Tom's of Maine has a silly strawberry Children's toothpaste. I saw it and bought it. My daughters now REALLY enjoy brushing their teeth. There was joy before when we received a free tube of Crest's kiddie glitter blue toothpaste but now...forget it. I get squeals of delight when I announce it's time to brush. If you didn't know, Tom's of Maine creates natural, sustainable and responsible health care products. And hey, get the most from your toothpaste with this reusable handy squeeze it tool. Happy brushing.

Choo Choo

My daughters have a love for music and dancing and Playhouse Disney's Choo Choo Soul has only brought out the dancing queen in them. When these three minute videos come on, the girls go nuts, shakin' and movin' all around the living room. I decided to welcome the frenzy to the car and purchased a $10 gently used cd/dvd set from Amazon. The music is upbeat with R&B beats and there's always a lesson to learn: ABC's with a gospel twist, farm animals and Jump Jump to name a few of the house favs. Another show to get the kids groovin' is Hip Hop Harry on Discovery Kids Network. Yes, don't blink. It's a big ole bear break dancing at a community center with pumped up and choreographed 10 year olds.

Kiddie Swaps

Forget what you might be thinking. Kiddie Swaps are for parents to swap out unwanted, gently used kid stuff for some other kid's items. We have held four of these at my work and all have been relatively successful. We have one coming up at the end of July but we are letting people bring their children's stuff in over the next two weeks to an empty office set up with labeled boxes. All the unswapped items are going to a local charity for low income women and kids. Knowing this makes it all the more fun when I am sorting through two and half years worth of toys and clothes.

Time Eaters

Last night it seemed time was standing still. I was tired, the kids had caught a second wind and bed time couldn't come soon enough. Here are my top five ways to eat away at the clock with your kids.
1. Give them a nice, long bath with toys
2. Make popcorn, lay out a blanket and have a popcorn picnic - one kernel at a time
3. Show family videos on the TV - go back to birth and work your way to the current year
4. If its nice out, break out the sidewalk chalk and let them decorate the porch and sidewalk
5. Paint with water Activity books - comes with a paint brush, you supply the water (picture shown)

It's raining...let's play outside

I am a cold person. Not my heart, but when I go outside, I need to have long sleeves on, a coat, pants, etc. So when Janae wants to go outside to play and it's raining, I say no. But things have changed since I heard Nancy Blakey speak about taking your kids outside and turning off the TV. Now, I don't know if I will completely turn off the latter but I am increasing the outdoor time ASAP. Nancy suggests creating boxes for dress up, for playing outside, for craft projects. And every time the kids get bored, pull out a box, turn off the TV and make them get creative. It's all about creating unstructured activities. Most importantly, we as parents are creating childhood memories for our children. This is our job and our most vivid memories as adults are playing outdoors. Go Outside!

Birthday on the cheap

Is it possible to throw a birthday party for 30 people under $100? I think it is and we shall see come September. Our little one turned one today and we had her party this past Sunday and it was about $250. We are thinking, a pot luck for the next party will bring costs down as the total number coming will not change since it's all family attending. We were going to do pizza for this last party but we are pizza snobs so the cheapest kind we like is about $24 a pie. We had Italian food ($180) catered and we had the left overs for dinner. I also ran a few inexpensive kid games as I had about 10 sweet faces to entertain. We did pin the tail on the bunny (cost of cotton balls), an inside Easter egg hunt ($10 with plastic eggs and candy) and a cotton ball spoon race down the hallway. Winners received a small chocolate bunny (.44cents ea.) and everyone took home a goodie bag with items I bought from the Target $1 area. Even in this area, I got cheaper, as I only bought $1 items that came in at least sets of 3-5. For Laney's 2nd birthday I made a duncan hines Dora cake ($3 cake mix) with a gifted Dora cake tin pan. My sister who is a cake decorating snob, flipped out and bought icing to make it look pretty. This time, I let her make the whole thing. She made an impressive pretty princesses cake (see photo) and I hope she didnt spend more than $20 on decorating it.

We play

Lately I have been really focusing on my kids when I get home from work. I try and do all the big cleaning while they eat dinner and then join them as they finish up. After dinner we usually play in their room and often times I would bring in a load of laundry to fold while they played. But lately I let go of my need to have folded laundry and just play and really enjoy my time with them. Even when they take baths, I have take a magazine in to read while they splash, but lately I sit on the edge of the tub, play and talk with them.

My Friends Kiddie Tips - Coming Home

Some advice my mother always gave me was as a working
mom, as soon as you arrive home at the end of your
work day, give your children 15-30 minutes of your
full attention before starting dinner or your other
mommy chores and they seem to be much more content
playing and not so klingy for your attention!

Ikea

Ikea had their twice yearly sale and the girls and I went yesterday. I bought some great deals to decorate their room and organize. My favorite were these little boxes with lids http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80098583 I bought six of them and placed puzzle pieces, game pieces, crayons in them. I want more boxes. Like now. I could use them in the kitchen, bathroom...

Ikea is so kid friendly. In the restaurant area they have a little area for kids to play, family friendly bathrooms with nursing and diaper changing rooms, and a little daycare to drop off the wee-ones. Lunch was $6.27 for three of us and their meatballs and gravy are delicious!