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April Fools Day- The Best Pranks To Play On Your Kids

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My personal disclaimer: before you go around pranking anyone, make sure you know them well enough! Some kids (and adults) honestly do not handle it well, usually because their sense of humor is different than yours. It’s also important to know where to draw the line between what is funny and what is mean. Once you have that down, April Fool’s Day becomes an excuse to have some silly fun with your kids. Get started preparing tonight, and you’ll have an awesome prank ready for them tomorrow morning. Check out these ideas from Rachel Miller at the Kids Activities blog:

-Shrink Wrap.- Two year olds are mesmerized when you shrink wrap their toys.  Half the fun is unwrapping them.  It’s Christmas all over again!

–Give your child a small silly gift.– …only put it in a small box, wrap it.  Put that in a medium box.  Wrap it.  Put that in a larger box, etc.  They will have fun finding their gift.

Freeze their Breakfast.– Fill your child’s bowl with cereal and milk – then stick it into the fridge!  The kids will be frustrated as they try to eat their breakfast (be sure to have a regular bowl of food nearby).

Photo Credit: Pascal 

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How Does Your Child Express Love?

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A few months ago, I first learned about love languages. Now, I usually don’t go in for hokey, new-age, self-help foolishness like this. But, I saw it all over Pinterest and decided to check it out. I took the quiz, and was pretty impressed by the results. My primary love language is “words of affirmation” followed by “quality time.” Yep! Pretty dead on. I don’t think I’m very insecure, but hearing “I love you,” or that I look nice, or really anything romantic makes me feel loved- more so than anything else, and I wasn’t really getting that in my relationship. Then, I made my boyfriend take the quiz (to lots of eyerolls from him), and found out that his top “language” was also quality time- but his lowest was “words of affirmation”. Well. That explained a lot. Since then, we’ve both put in work to add in more of each other’s “love languages,” and I feel like our relationship has really improved.

On the site, you can also take the quiz with your children. If you have a different love language than your child, you might need to work extra hard to make sure they feel loved and appreciated. Check out this post by Angela at Together With Family for more:

The love languages are: touch, words, quality time, gifts, and service.

I encourage you today to look out for your children’s love language.  Once you do, make sure you keep it in mind when you are parenting that child!  I bet if you do, you will see that relationship grow, this is especially great to do with a child you are struggling with!  It will make such a difference.

Photo Credit: KaramSingh 

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How To Get Stuff Done While Caring For A Baby

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Babies are wonderful. They’re adorable, their laughs are the cutest things ever, and they’re endlessly amusing. But, they’re a lot of work. A lot. They require constant supervision and cannot be left alone, no matter how short the time. Even going to the next room for one minute to make a bottle can be disastrous (read: curious one year old knocking literally everything off an end table, including 2 almost-full glasses of water). So, if you’re a stay at home parent, how do you even get anything done? Yes, babies do sleep- but that’s when you sleep. I consider myself lucky if I can get a load of dishes done and a quick nap in. However, this post by Janelle at Homestead in the Holler has a great solution! She works on a farm, and stays at home with 2 kids (one baby), and still gets massive amounts of work done. Here’s her secret:

My 6 year old is an animal lover and loves to help out, so she was easy.  How did I manage with a baby?  Baby wearing. It has proven to be everything I was hoping for.  I don’t get a back ache and baby is comfortable and happy.  I cannot imagine farm life with a baby without it.

I collect eggs, milk our goats, toss hay bales, garden, dig holes, etc all with the baby on my back.  I love it because I can be outside, doing what I love.  The baby?  She absolutely loves it.  She loves to go outside and loves seeing the animals even more.

Photo Credit: Someecards.com 

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Sign Language For Baby

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My nephew Jayden hasn’t really said his first word yet. Sure, he says “dedededede” all day, and will sometimes say “nananana,” and “bobobobo,” and “yeyyyy,” but I don’t think he knows what he is saying. However, he has learned to wave hello and goodbye! He will also rub his eyes when he is sleepy, and put his hands up when he wants to be picked up. Babies learn how to use physical motions to express their needs before they are able to vocalize them. That’s why this infographic by iCanSign.com is really helpful! It includes lots of signs for babies to learn, including:

-Eat

-Hurt

-Bed

-Drink

-Water, Milk

-Mom, Dad

 

Check it out! I’ve already been trying to teach him “eat” 🙂

Photo Credit: gfpeck 

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Baby Name Ideas: The ‘Write’ Stuff

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I LOVE collecting baby names. Now, I realize I will never use the majority of them, but the obsession doesn’t stop. I have around 5 naming books, pages and pages of lists, and 2 sites that I visit DAILY for new names. I also love writing- my own creative stories, and this blog. That’s why I love this list by Lauren Hartmann at Disney Baby– for names inspired by writers. Here are some of my favorites:

-Blake

-Langston

-Maya

-Kate

-Morrison

-Oscar

-Walt (of course).

Photo Credit: JE Theriot 

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Halloween Costume Idea for Kids: Easy Zombie Makeup

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When I think of easy, cheap costumes- I prefer things that can be made with items I already have around the house. A few of my favorites? Fortune tellers (just throw on a bunch of scarves and jingly jewelry), pirates (similar, but with bandanas and an eyepatch), and thrift store pieces put together. Another very simple costume idea? Zombies! All you need is a little bit of makeup, and some old clothes that you don’t mind ripping up. Here’s how to apply zombie makeup, by Rachel at Madame Deals:

-For an extra gross effect, apply ripped up toilet paper to the face to create a “wound,” then go over it with makeup

-Add black eyeshadow all around the eyes

-Use gray makeup on the rest of the face. If you want, you can use fake blood around the mouth as well.

Photo Credit: Mislav Marohnic 

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Simple Parenting Hacks

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Teaching kids good habits is much harder than it looks. When I was younger, I hated eating veggies, and refused to clean my room or help with chores. My parents tried all the tricks in the book: they tried grounding me, taking away privileges, giving rewards, and setting ultimatums. Usually, it worked. Now I eat a little healthier (only because I know it’s for my own good now; I STILL hate veggies), and I pick up after myself like a real adult! However, I know my parents would have had an easier time if they had seen some of these Buzzfeed hacks:

-Hide healthy vegetables in desserts and smoothies. Try spinach brownies or zucchini crisp.

-Teach saving habits early with a compartmentalized piggy bank. (seen in picture)

-Change the wifi password and make them do chores in exchange for it

-ANY chore can become a game. Get creative!

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

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