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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

It's the 100th day of school!

Do your kids celebrate the 100th day of school?

Mine do, and for the first few years I went insane (or more accurately pin-sane) trying to figure out the most clever project ever for my kid to commemorate the 100th day of school in a totally unique and memorable way.

Now, I just let them do what they want. For my daughter Kay this meant decorating 100 in 10 rows of 10.


Perfect.

Happy 100th day, Kay!

For plenty - possibly even too many - 100th day ideas, visit my 100th Day board on Pinterest.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Super Bowl Sunday Math Fun from Bedtime Math

 
 
Do you know about Bedtime Math? It's a great idea from New Jersey mom Lauren Overdeck that kids should have a bedtime math problem just like they have a bedtime book.
 
Lauren was nice enough to share these tips for a math-erific Super Bowl Sunday. When the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens play for the championship title, here are some math problems you can solve with your kids.
 
1. Practice adding and subtracting with Roman numerals. This year’s game is the 47th Super Bowl– Super Bowl XLVII. For older kids, put a fun – and challenging– twist on regular addition and subtraction by introducing the concept of Roman numerals; then, use this different number system to practice adding and subtracting. L minus X (50 – 10) equals 40; V plus II (5 + 2) equals 7.

2. Choose game day snacks and count change. Everyone needs some yummy snacks to munch on during the game. Have your kids set up a Super Bowl snack bar at home, and attribute different prices to each food item. Use play money to ‘buy’ snacks from the snack bar, and have your children count out the correct change for each family member’s snack ‘purchase’.

3. Countdown. A football game is divided into four quarters, each of which lasts for 15 minutes. Throughout the game, keep an eye on the timer, and have your kids figure out how much time has passed in the quarter based on the amount of time remaining. If the timer reads 13:24, how much game time has already passed?

 
 
Lauren Overdeck studied astrophysics at Princeton, and founded Bedtime Math in 2012 to help parents inspire a love of math in young kids by finding exciting opportunities for math learning in everyday activities.

Through Bedtime Math, parents receive a nightly math problem to do with their children; each problem is adapted for various age levels (Wee Ones, Little Kids, Big Kids) and draws on real-life, kid-friendly examples.

You can sign-up to receive email with the daily problem at BedtimeMathProblem.org, or you can find the daily problem on Facebook /bedtimemath and Twitter @bedtimemath..

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Snow Day Fun: Have an Ice Cube Scavenger Hunt in the Snow

A while back I read about this really cool ice cube scavenger hunt in the snow on Parents.com. With snow in our forecast I decided I would freeze a batch of red hearts for my kids to look for in the snow.



To have an ice cube scavenger hunt in your snowy yard all you need is:



Snow - we used the ones provided by nature, but if you have a snow maker, that would work fine, too.


Frozen Ice Cubes - we have heart shaped muffin trays, which were perfect, but regular ice cube trays are just as good. I used two different colors so each kid could search for their "own" hearts. I added a few drops of food coloring to water in a cup, then poured into the trays and froze.



Good Hiding Skills - while your kids aren't looking, go outside and hide the ice cubes for the scavenger hunt in the snow.



Depending on your kids ages, you might want to make them a map to use to find the ice cube hearts, or you could give them clues or riddles to solve to lead them to the hidden ice cubes.



Warm Clothes to Bundle-up - now go outside and enjoy your snow day ice cube scavenger hunt!




You can find some fun facts about ice to add an educational component to the ice cube scavenger hunt at Go on An Ice Cube Treasure Hunt on NWF.org.



What are your favorite things to do outside with the kids on a snow day?




If you're visiting from Pop Sugar a big hello, welcome and glad you're here!

Be sure to check out more crafts and fun on PinterestFacebook and Twitter!

And for some serious laughs, check out my husband's grocery list and these reviews of Haribo Sugarless Gummy Bears.


Saturday, January 26, 2013

A Great Day Celebrating the Launch of the Peter Rabbit Line at babyGap

Today I joined the festivities at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus as a guest "mommy blogger" reader for a fun event at babyGap to launch their new limited edition Peter Rabbit line.
 
The clothes are so cute, and of course dressing-up my son like a rabbit has been a dream for a long time (you can read why here), so I think he sorta kinda hafta own this.
 

The event had face painting for the kids, arts-and-crafts, and lots of bunny-rific snacks, as well as a photo booth where you could embrace your inner rabbit.


I loved reading Emma Thompson's The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit to the kids, and in addition to these photos here from my brother


 my daughter (and future blogger) took some as well I'll post tomorrow.

The event also collected books for local Boys & Girls Clubs via a great non-profit, Milk & Bookies, and I'm glad to have had the chance to support their amazing efforts to provide all kid with books of their own.

Thanks to babyGap for including me in this event and to everyone at the Garden State Plaza babyGap for making the event so fun for everyone. A huge thank you too to my New York City friends and family who joined us in New Jersey!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Future Blogger

My daughter, age 7, clearly on the path to being a future blogger.

Already almost there, taking selfies in the bathroom mirror with my iPhone.

 
 
Also, for one of the funniest reads ever (even more so if you are a blogger, and even more, more so if you are mommy blogger) read Adult Children of Mom Bloggers' Support Group by Momma Be Thy Name.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Inauguration Day: Red, White and Blue Breakfast Ideas

I made some fun red, white and blue breakfasts for my kids last year on Memorial Day, Flag Day and July Fourth. I'm going to make one tomorrow for Inauguration Day, so I'm sharing this post again in case you're looking for patriotic breakfast ideas at your house, too.

All of these are easy red, white and blue breakfast ideas can be made with strawberries, blueberries and whatever else you have in the house for "white" - we had white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and marshmallows, all just asking to be used-up in our creations.



1. Pancakes topped with a kabob made from strawberries, blueberries and marshmallows.



2. Pancakes cut-out in star shapes and topped with strawberries, blueberries and a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk. My kids loved this one so much they insisted on having it again for their after-school snack.



3. Oatmeal topped with strawberries, blueberries and white chocolate chips. I threw a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk on this too, because honestly, that stuff tastes good in and on everything.


I also made red, white and blue muffins, which turned out really yummy. Click here for the recipe.

Happy Inauguration Day!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Be An Early Adapter! Check out AfterSchool.com!



There's a new site in town from the folks who brought you Diapers.com and Soap.com  - AfterSchool.com. The site has a huge selection for the school-age set, with everything from sports gear to dance wear to shoes and sleds.

There's a whole section devoted to basketball, which I checked out for my basketball playing daughter. In addition to the huge selection of basketballs and accessories, there was also helpful information about how to choose the right size basketball for your child - information I wish I had when she first started playing and I didn't even know basketballs came in different sizes.


 
This week AfterSchool.com is having a big sale, with 25% off of everything on the site. In addition to all the sports stuff , there's also a lot of supplies for arts and crafts (or arts and crap as my three-year-old always insists on calling it).
This week there's a sitewide sale and everything at AfterSchool.com is 25% off through Thursday, January 24.

In addition to the 25% off discount, AfterSchool.com is also offering free 1-2 day delivery on orders of $49 and over and free 365-day returns.

To receive the 25% discount, just enter code ASITEWIDE25 at checkout - max discount is $50.

I was not compensated for this post. I did receive a gift card to try Afterschool.com that I may or may not have used completely on replenishing my Duck Tape supply.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Kids are funny.

My kids are funny. Just like all kids are funny -- because they're kids. And kids don't worry about taxes, or educational reform. They don't think for even a second about mortgage rates, or toxic dumping in the ocean. Kids have probably never even heard of black mold, so they don't know they should be thinking and worrying about that, too.

Which is all good. I guess. This way kids can keep busy at their full-time job of being kids. And being funny.

And which also means they can save all their worries for things like if their older sister is going to be left behind at the park. (By her mother of all people, but that part's not important.)

Why am I thinking about all this? Because this happened:

We were at the local playground. It was an afternoon just like every other afternoon, except for the part when I thought it was OK to tell my six-year-old if she didn't come right now, "we're leaving without you!"

Now, I would never tell my toddler (or any toddler) that I was leaving him behind, that just seems too mean. But my daughter is six, surely she knows better that mommy would never leave her behind?

And I was right, she did, she does, she is now and was then, fine.

But what I failed to put together is that telling a six-year-old you're leaving her behind is just as troubling to a toddler as telling him you're leaving him behind.

Next thing I know, I'm explaining to the six-year-old that the two-year-old has insisted on leaving the comfy confines of the car seat I've just gotten him into so he can return to the playground and "save" his big sister.

And the point of this whole story?

That kids are funny.

And that this kind of "I'm coming to save you!" devotion is why having a little brother is awesome even when it's hard to remember this because he talks all through American Idol and steals your clothes and takes the last piece of candy. And also, if you forget to hide it, your gum.
 
 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

What do babyGap, Peter Rabbit, Books and Me Have in Common?

Just a few days ago babyGap announced it's new Peter Rabbit collection, which was created in partnership with Beatrix Potter, featuring "our favorite mischievous rabbit re-imagined for the next generation."

To celebrate the launch of the Peter Rabbit line, babyGap is partnering with Milk & Bookies, a non-profit whose sole purpose is to celebrate the love of reading and to help kids get books into the hands of other kids. There will be multiple events at babyGap locations where participants can donate books for local Boys & Girls Clubs.

So there you have the connection between BabyGap, Peter Rabbit and books.

Where do I come in? Here:


Yes, that's right on Saturday, January 26, at 11:00am there will be a fabulous and fun event at the Paramus babyGap (Garden State Plaza mall) where I'll be reading the instant classic The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson in my best Joisey British accent.
 
If you're here in scenic New Jersey, I'd love for you to join us in celebrating books, bunnies and baby clothes.


And if you're elsewhere, click here for the full list of events taking place nationwide.

I am not being compensated for this post or for my participation. I am receiving an advance copy of the book.


Friday, January 11, 2013

World's Best Homemade Hot Chocolate

I've been obsessing over making homemade hot chocolate lately - and why not? With three little kids and winter weather, pretty much every day is a hot chocolate day around here. I've even gotten a little creative with our recipes.

After a lot of tries here in our Random Handprints test kitchen, here are our top three picks for the world's best homemade hot chocolate:

1. Nutella Hot Chocolate. This is a little time/effort intensive, but worth it if your kids are Nutella fans like mine are. All you need to do is heat milk in a pan on the stove, and stir in 2 tablespoons of Nutella per cup, until it dissolves. Amazing.

3. Authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate - made with fair-trade Taza chocolate, the recipe is on their website. Another one that involves some time dissolving chocolate on the stove, but so worth it for the yummy results.


2. Jacques Torres Hot Chocolate - ready to mix-and-go, and as the tagline on the tin reads "Better than you can remember." And it so is.



Do you have a favorite way to make hot chocolate? Share, please!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Basketball Player In the House

When my husband and I got our first apartment together, which had typical New York City railroad style layout, one of my first memories is of us playing hockey. He unpacked his hockey stick and puck, and then surprisingly his other hockey stick, for a totally awesome indoor hockey game - the doorways on either side of the living room/dining room/kitchen served as the perfect goal posts.

I remember him saying, "when we have kids, I'm totally not going to be the kinda dad who doesn't let them play ball in the house."

And he has kept good on that promise, as evidenced by the photos my daughter Kay took of big sister Magpie playing basketball in our not-so-big kitchen just this past weekend.

 

Unfortunately for me, I did not have a similar wish to be the kinda mom who let's the kids play ball in the house.

Oh well.

Also, Big Duckie has shown himself to be a much better player than you might expect at first glance.


Do you let the kids play ball in the house?

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Finding the Funny Linky Fun!


Hello! Welcome to my favorite linky on the Internets, Finding the Funny! I've been linking-up every week with Anna (My Life and Kids) and Kelley (Kelley's Breakroom) for ages, and I'm delighted to be hosting this week with them and lots of other funny folks!

Meet the Hosts

Anna @ My Life and Kids
Kelley @ Kelley's Break Room
Robyn @ Hollow Tree Ventures
JD @ Honest Mom
Kerry @ HouseTalkN
Keesha @ Mom's New Stage
Paige @ There's More Where That Came From
Meredith @ The Mom of the Year
Anna @ Random Handprints (that's me!) 
Toulouse @ Toulouse and Tonic

The Rules

Link up an old or new funny post. Link up as many times as you want (we're serious).

The party is open from Wednesday - Friday at midnight. The earlier you link up, the more clicks you'll get.

Click around and meet the other funny bloggers that are linking up.

Follow the Finding the Funny Pinterest board. We'll all be pinning our favorites throughout the month. We don't ask you to link back to us or include a button on your blog, but we do ask you to send out a tweet or post about the party on your Facebook page. Be sure to use #findingthefunny.

So get linking and get reading.... and laughing! I can't wait to read your posts!