New Websites

It's always fun to find new kids websites. Angelina Ballerina has a new website! My girls, especially Rose, are big fans. That site led me to:

PBS Kids Sprout - they have the cutest website. Rosie just came down with a fever of nearly 102, and fell asleep watching Noddy video clips.

There are lots of healthy kids recipes, with names and designs based on favorite characters:

• Freeze Dance Pops
• Barney's Purple Hummus Dip
• Brussel's Mini-Quiches
• Jay Jay's Chicken Salad Plane
• Banjo's Banana Splits

And after you've tried them out, you can upload a picture of your kids making or eating them. My kids are gonna love that! You can also upload photos for various parts of the Gallery. And there are pages of video clips of sign language words from The Good-Night Show.

There are also pages of simple (and I mean really simple) crafts. No, you might not think they're beautiful, and they might not make good Mother's Day gifts, but they'll keep your kids occupied with simple household materials and lots of creativity. Some favorites:

• Bottle Cap Ladybugs
• Sponge Sailboat
• String Telephone
• Picture Puzzle

• Name Art

And finally back at those creative, veggie loaded, kid-friendly recipes, I clicked a link to:

KidsHealth where there are even more great recipes with sections of recipes for kids with cystic fibrosis, diabetes, celiac disease, and that are vegetarian. as well as educational games and experiments, information on childhood illnesses and accidents from kids' or parents' perspectives, a whole sections of "How the Body Works" videos that Ethan might totally love (though the one I watched seemed a bit slow-moving) The teens section of the site has some good stuff, but also lots of information you would expect from a public school type setting in regard to private matters. There's also a "Growing Up" section that you may want your kids to avoid before turning them loose on the site, on the other hand, it could be helpful if you are needing to discuss puberty and related issues.

Have fun exploring these new sites or just enjoying the links that I found. See you later!

Craft of the Day

Our Merry Mice ! (Walmart was out of green).

Simple Toddler gift

My mother made this photo album picture book for Anna Kate last year. Anna liked it, but Rose loves it, then and now. There are favorite characters from Disney princesses to Nick Jr. pals, foods, animals, letters - anything likely to peak a toddlers interest is game. She used a stack of old Family Fun magazines.

Mailing Packages

I think that tomorrow is the shipping deadline for guaranteed Christmas delivery, so if you're still running slow, get thee to the UPS store.

Can you believe that today, I walked into the UPS Store and right up to the counter to mail my box? No wait. I was sure that I was going to be entertaining three antsy kids in a half hour line, but no. No line. This is a great blessing in my life. One I surely don't deserve, because I deserve to be taught patience at every turn. I HATE WAITING. In line, at stop lights, at stop signs for that matter, for my two year old to get her shoes put on the third time so that we can get out the door. Yeah, no line at the UPS store the week before Christmas is a red letter day for me, folks.

On to packages. I like to decorate my boxes that I'm mailing. I cover them with magazine pictures. All blue flowers for my mother, lacy hearts and roses for Valentine's Day, or, in this case, Christmas wreaths and florals. It just gives an extra special touch. I was in a hurry today, so this example is rather sparse, but you get the idea. Martha Stewart Living or old Victoria magazines (if I can bear to cut one, sometimes I have duplicate copies), a pair of decorative edge scissors and lots of packaging tape are all you need. They look best completely covered in a collage, but this simplified version is still a step above ordinary.

Independence Day Crafts

I was informed that there was a lack of crafts in my holiday plan. So I adjusted.

1. Fireworks for the little girls to trace with glue or glitter pens. Ethan drew his glitter fireworks on black construction paper.
2. A construction paper windsock with cut and glued stripes and stars and crepe paper tails.
3. A bald eagle.