To continue with my birthday theme this past week (streamers are still up), I wanted to share with you our secret to a happy birthday party. For the past three years, we have celebrated the kids’ birthdays with ECHOage, an online birthday party service whereby your child choses a charity to donate to in lieu…
Flubber: A Toy for All Ages
I left some of our homemade flubber at my kids’ performing arts studio. Turns out, flubber is not just for kids! Lorah Haskins of The Studio made this movie. Make some flubber for yourself with our recipe. xo, Bar
Balloon Surprise
Pinterest had an idea that I wanted to copy. There was a photo of a little girl looking all adorable up on her bed, and beneath her on the floor were big, colorful balloons. The post said, “On their birthday, cover the floor with balloons while they sleep.” Brilliant idea! I went to Party City….
Best Flubber Recipe
This past weekend was my son’s birthday. He turned six! We broke our own rules of 1) having birthday parties at home and 2) inviting no more than 10 guests. This year he wanted to invite all of the kids in Kindergarten (oy!), no one was to be left out. With so many invitees, we…
The Art Room
Our art room at home. It’s right off the kitchen with sliding glass doors to keep the mess contained. It’s bright and sunny and indestructible. For many years, we couldn’t have any of the supplies down low. We always had a little one crawling or toddling around. Now that my youngest is five, I am…
Exploring Tube Watercolors with Kids
This week was April break numero dos in our house. My kids go to schools in different towns so this week my little guy had his mom all to himself. We decided to explore some new watercolor paints. Here’s my recipe for watercolor painting with little ones using tube paints. There is nothing fancy, and…
Listen Earnestly
I love this quote by Catherine M. Wallace. The range of things my kids talk about with me is vast. My five-year-old asks me questions all day about how old I am, or do I know any real ninjas. My nine-year-old tells me about every inappropriate word uttered on the bus, or who is her…
Pencil Eraser Stamping
I love this idea! It’s so simple, so colorful, and so fun. Any child at any age, really, can enjoy this. Just buy some new pencils and a rainbow ink pad and that’s all you need to make some art! This idea came from a rubber stamp artist named Carloe Lie.
Bread + Jam
This morning, my little guy asked me for toast with jam, one of his faves. Halfway through, as his lips were smacking and jam was already spreading out onto his cheeks, he said, “Mom! Remember? Bread and Jam for Frances!” Ahhh…our most beloved book. If you haven’t had a chance to pick this up from…
Paper Friends
Illustrator Bianca Helga’s Paper Friends. I just love this idea, using recycled materials to create characters that are instantly friends! This would be a great craft to do at home with scraps, paint, crayons,glue. Anything! And what a nice way to introduce kids to the term “mixed media”. I think we’ll give this a try! xo,…
