Tag Archives: kid approved

Flower Feeders

Posted in Home Life by


These bird feeders caught my eye when I saw them on Mommy Apolis a few weeks back. They seemed so simple, that I just had to give them a try. I totally blew the final finished product pictures…I didn’t take any. Oh- the holiday rush when both sets of families live in the same town.

I would definitely recommend a thinner cookie cutter. Our feeders took 48 hours to completely dry. After 24 hours they still were a bit soft to the touch.

Tons of cooking spray was used during this project…Several times I sprayed the inside of the cookie cutter, my fingers, and the metal tablespoon that I used to press the bird seed into the cutter. After making two feeders, I figured out that the back of a metal tablespoon was much more efficient, than my fingers, for pressing the seeds into the cutter.


Ingredients
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2.5 teaspoons)
3 tbsp corn syrup
4 cups birdseed

Materials
large mixing bowl
shaped cookie cutter- I used a flower for Spring
nonstick spray
straw for making a hole
parchment or wax paper or tin foil
cookie sheet
ribbon

Mix flour, water, gelatin and corn syrup.

Add bird seed and stir- I added one cup of seed at a time. It was easier to stir with a smaller amount of seed. I used two different types of seeds, a sunflower mix and then the other seed is a mystery to me… but, both came from my dads bird seed bins. I ended up using two cups of each type of seed.



Use a cooking spray to coat the inside of a cookie cutter and to spray your fingers.

Set cookie cutter on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Spoon mixture inside of cookie cutter, pressing mixture firmly down into cutter. You want the seeds to be very compact, so that the feeder stays together. I began by using my fingers to press down on the seeds, but quickly found out that the back of a metal tablespoon worked so much better.

I used a sturdy plastic straw from one of Reagan’s sippy cups to make the hole for the string. I sprayed the entire portion of the straw that would be inserted into the seed. The mixture is super sticky from using the corn syrup, so I didn’t want the straw to stick. Twist and press down on the straw till you reach the wax paper.

Slowly lift the cookie cutter up and remove from seed. The cutter should slide right off, if you used enough spray.

My 4 cups of bird seed made five very thick feeders.

It took around 48 hours for the feeders to completely dry. The next time I do this project, I will definitely be using a thinner cookie cutter– quicker drying time and a lighter feeder to hang from a branch.

Reagan and I tied a yellow string through the holes of the feeders, so that our family could hang them in their yard for their birds, NOT SQUIRRELS, to enjoy!

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Envelopes with Love

Posted in Kid's Corner by


Reagan took one of her paintings that she made last week off of the fridge, held it up to me and said ‘paint mama paint’. Seriously, could she get any cuter? Without hesitation we headed to the basement and grabbed the needed materials. While setting up, I noticed the white envelopes that I had pulled out the night before to mail a letter to my cousin in Canada. What better way to show a little love to our favorite out-of-towners than custom made envelopes. As usual, I allowed Reagan to go to town and be as creative as she wanted. We talked about who we were going to send each envelope to and what we would put inside. This was a fantastic way to practice the names of the ones we love:)

Materials
envelopes
paint
paint brushes
dish for paint (we used a tupperware container because they’re easy to clean)
something to protect the surface of your table (we have a cardboard mat that we use)

Project is self explanatory. Allow your child to paint the envelopes one at a time. Allow to dry for at least an hour. Use a black Sharpie marker to address the envelope. IMG_4344

Apple Sauce Drops

Posted in What's Cookin' by


I’m trying to be creative to get Reagan to eat. She loved apple sauce for about a month and now she won’t touch it…so frustrating. Reagan loves frozen greek yogurt drops, so I thought that the same technique would be brilliant for the apple sauce that I had in the fridge. A super simple quick snack. I will forewarn…the drops begin to melt quickly. I give Reagan four or five at a time in a small bowl, in hopes that she will quickly eat them to receive more.


Ingredients
apple sauce

Materials
large baking sheet
wax paper
plastic bag
scissors

Line baking sheet with wax paper and pour apple sauce, enough for as many drops as you want, into the plastic bag.

Cut the corner of the plastic bag.

Hold plastic bag like a pastry bag and squeeze the desired sized drops onto the wax paper lined baking sheet. I make them big enough for Reagan to pick up, but small enough so that she does not choke.

You do not want the drops to touch on the sheet

Place in freezer for about an hour. Remove sheet from freezer, lift drops off sheet and place in tupperware container. It’s always so much more fun when Reagan get’s to participate!

These apple sauce treats are freezing, so I’m sure they feel fabulous on Reagan’s sore gums!

Perfect Morning

Posted in Kid's Corner by

Bundle up the kiddos it’s time to feed the UCKS! Check out that 55 degree temperature…Woot! Woot! Today was a cloudy Rochester day (not a shocker), but was nice enough for us to be able to spend the late morning and early afternoon outdoors with t he kids! The ‘ucks’ as Reagan calls the ducks were at the top of her to do list, so we met Erin and the boys in Schoen Place for some much-needed uck time.

Reagan feels the need to snack right along with the ucks, which is why we can never bring anything but fresh bread…those lucky little ucks.

When the bread was gone, we headed across the canal to have lunch and dance in the pavilion.  Oh to be a kid again.  These two are hysterical and love to dance to their favorites Justin and Kelis!

After a few falls, it was time to head to the library for a much-needed potty break and a little QT.  Henry gave me a long talk about how important it is for Reagan to have two gloves…his reasons included – only a few fingers being warm, her boo boo on her hand getting cold and not getting better and it looking silly. He’s such a smart kid- I felt like I was getting a lecture from my dad. (only one glove made it into the stroller from the trunk of the car)

The library is a comfortable and familiar place for both kids.  They know their boundaries and enjoy being able to have a bit of freedom to choose what they would like to do. They stuck together today…

Time flies when you’re having fun and before we knew it nap time was quickly approaching.  It was back in the stroller for Reagan and a quick walk to the car for Henry.  Holden was a trooper, like always, and slept the entire time!

How lucky are we to be able to stay home with our kids?  I am so grateful to be able to experience each new adventure with Reagan and fortunate enough to have Erin, Henry and Holden to share the adventures with as well.

Moon Sand

Posted in Kid's Corner by


What a mess…but so much fun! I underestimated the power that flour has to get all over anything that is anywhere close to it. Reagan and I started this activity on a towel that I set down on top of the kitchen rug. Within minutes, I had to roll back the kitchen rug, because the flour was starting to get everywhere. We will definitely be doing this activity outside next time.

The amount of each ingredient depends on the amount of Moon Sand that you want to make. We used two cups of flour and just continued to add baby oil until we reached the consistency that we liked. Reagan used the measuring cup, measuring spoon, large spoon and spatula to stir the sand, scoop it from one container to the next, create sand mounds and so much more!

Materials
Flour
Baby oil
Bowl or Tupperware container
Measuring Cup
Measuring Spoon
Large Spoon
Spatula

Measure desired amount of flour into a bowl or plastic container that your child can manipulate easily. I used a glad plastic container that has side gripped handles that are thin enough for Reagan to hold onto and is large enough for her scoop in and out of, as well as to build in.

Add baby oil, stirring with a spoon or spatula and squeezing with your hands until desired consistency is reached. I wanted to be able to form balls with our sand, so I continued to add baby oil until we were able to do so. We probably added about 1/4 cup of baby oil- total guesstimate.

Reagan played for about 25 minutes with the Moon Sand and loved every minute of it! The baby oil made our hands super soft and left them smelling fabulous as well–thanks to the lavender-scented oil!

We threw away the Moon Sand, put the dishes in the dish washer and shook the towel outside before washing.