Zibits Robots

Today the kids took a trip to the Learning Expres Toy Store with their Nonna and brought home these cute new toys called "Zibits".  They are remote controlled mini robots.  The remote has one button like control.  Push it forward and the robot will move forward.  Pull the button back and the robot will spin in circles, thus changing the direction it goes when you make it move forward again.  You can collect all sorts of different robots, as well as tracks, playsets, and accessories.  It's like the Zhu Zhu pets of the future! 

 

 
Check them out at www.zibits.com

[DIY] Toddler Trundle Bed

I've been at it again in my girls' bedroom.  We did some rearranging in their room and in the process I came up with a space saving solution - a toddler trundle bed. 

Here's what our standard toddler bed looked like:  

Simply remove the headboard, and footboard, and side rails (just a few screws).
 Measure the width of the bed.
Then cut a 1x4 piece of wood to that measurement (mine was about 30" I think).  See wood ends in picture below. 
Attach with 2 screws in each corner to the bed base.  

Since you want the bed to slide in and out easily, you're going to need some wheels!  I had saved these wheels from some other piece of furniture or storage bin.  They came in quite handy.

First, cut a triangular piece for the wheel support.  I just used a 1x4 and cut each side at 45 degree angle, about 3" long on each side. 

Attach each triangle support with 2 screws into the base of the bed.  Then attach your wheels to the support.


Now just throw the mattress on top, and Ta-da!  A toddler size trundle bed.  All these pictures actually show the trundle under our bunk beds - which would be a great option if you had 3 kids in a room.  I originally had the trundle under just a single twin bed (before we put the beds together as bunk beds).  

This was a pretty simple modification to make.  I didn't even have to ruin any parts to the original toddler bed.  If we ever want to go back to that, we can just remove the custom ends and reattach the headboard and footboard.  I love options!

Teaching Communication to kids

In our home we do something each Monday night, called "Family Home Evening".  This is encouraged in our faith to help teach gospel principles and family values in our homes.  Sometimes we do gospel related lessons and other times we do fun activities that strengthen our family relationships.  My daughter will soon be baptized, so we decided to teach a lesson that will her better understand the importance of the Holy Ghost (spirit) in her life.  Without going into those specific lesson details, here's a summary of the activity we did with the kids that would make for a great lesson on communication or something similar.


We had a child sit on either side of a card table set on it's side.  This kept them from being able to see one another.

First, we gave each kid the same set of duplo blocks and told one of them to build a tower however they wanted to.  We then told the other child to go ahead and build what they thought matched the blocks on the other side.  This felt frustrating because they couldn't see anything on the other side and had no direction or instruction.


Second, the child was allowed to describe the tower to their sibling on the other side of the table and help them to try to match what they had built.  (This proved to be a great communication skill builder.  The kids learned quickly that they needed to be very specific and make careful descriptions).  They were so excited when they were able to match it exactly.  If they didn't, we went back over where something went wrong and discussed ways to explain it better - or maybe it was a listening issue.

Lastly, we had the children do the same thing as before, but this time my husband and I got out the toddler music bucket and started making all kinds of racket!  Obviously, this made it VERY difficult for the kids to communicate properly.  The child listening couldn't hear the instructions and both were exteremely annoyed and frustrtated.  This can be associated with things that distract us from listening well.

This activity was so fun for them.  They kept trying to make their buildings/towers more complicated to see if they could effectively communicate it to the other.

 

 

Apple - Nectarine Fruit Leathers

This year, we finally got a huge crop of Nectarines on our tree out back. They are delicious! And with some surplus, we decided to try to make a yummy snack - fruit leathers or fruit roll ups. I was mostly interested in an easy process since I decided to do this on the fly (as usual). I looked up a few resources for tips and ultimately did the following:

1. Removed pits, sliced nectarines (left skin on) - about 4 cups worth
2. Added nectarines, 1 jar of applesauce, and 2 Tbspn lemon juice to the blender and blended until smooth
3. Traced circles/cut out parchment paper to fit correctly on the humidifier trays
4. Poured fruit mixture onto trays and spread out with spatula
5. Plugged in dehydrator and waited a few hours...

And here's the final result. Yummy! We had a few trays get a little drier than I preferred, but it was a great trial run. Now, just cut and eat - or don't cut and just eat a giant fruit donut roll!

[Fitness] No more excuses!

Summer makes it a little harder for mom to find a moment to herself.  These 3 little monkeys have been helping me achieve some fitness goals.  We've had a few garage workouts where I set up stations for the kids to do (mostly so I could do my workout  without being climbed all over)

Free weights


Stationary Bike

Mini Trampoline

I've also take a few trips to the park with the kids and attempted to get in a good workout while they played.  Try using a nearby bench for a quick fitness fix.

These 8 Bench moves from The Fitnessista are a great start.  You can do a workout while you watch your kids play at the park, right?  No more excuses.

[Build] Corner shoe bench

 

One of my wonderful childhood friends actually trusted me enough to build her a corner shoe bench for her entry way.  I don’t have many projects under my belt, especially custom ones, but I guess seeing the wall bed I built for my son was enough for her to think I could pull off a shoe bench.  My friend new exactly what she wanted, drew out a rough sketch of it and emailed me a copy with some specific dimensions.  We emailed back and forth to work out minor details and she waited patiently for me to carve out bits of time here and there to work on it.

The planning process for this project probably took me longer than actually building it because I wanted to make sure it was just right.  (there’s a little more pressure when you’re building for someone other than yourself)  I was also learning the Google Sketch-Up program (which I absolutely love!).  If you haven’t tried it out, you must – it’s free.  There are great resources/tutorials online that will walk you step by step through certain tools.  Once you get a few basic skills down, it can be really fun. People design everything from furniture to full blown 3D cities!  Do an Images search for “google sketchup” and you’ll see what I’m talking about. 

I’m still learning as I go, but I definitely plan to use it for every project that I build from scratch.  The best part is that you can draw it out piece by piece on Sketchup and then you will be able to visually see the “built” project before you even touch a piece of wood.  It saves you from making so many mistakes that would otherwise be so easy to do if you were working from a 2D penciled drawing – at least it was that way for me.

 

 

[Build] Kinder Puppet Theater

My son's Kindergarten teacher had a wishlist of items for her classroom. One of them was a puppet theater.  They have a whole rack of puppets, but no theater to put on a show.  When I saw it online retailing for $70, I knew right away I could build something similar for a fraction of the cost.  It took me just a couple hours to build, everything from scraps in my garage.   

Another parent donated the fabric for the curtains.  Just a couple late nights of simple sewing and spray painting, "Luce Theater" was born.  The top sign was spray painted with chalkboard paint

 The kids also got to sign their name on the sides so she will always remember this year's class. 

BASIC PLANS FOR PUPPET THEATER

Finished front and back views

Step 1 - Build frame with 1x4s (3.5"x.75") pieces

2 - 19.5" long 

2- 24" long

Kreg jig or predrill for screws

*Also on your long pieces, this would be the perfect time to drill a spot for the dowel piece (picture at the end) if you plan on adding a curtain.  

Cut your dowel piece about 18.5" long

Drill a hole 1/4 of an inch depth into each 24" board about 2" from the top, centered. 

You can place dowel in when you build the frame or try to add it later. Probably best to secure now.

Step 2 - Add middle board

18"x 6" - attach with glue and screws on sides or just use brad nailer 

Center this board on the bottom board. There should be about 1 3/8" space on either side

 Step 3 - Cut out and attach "stage" piece

First, start with a board 18"x7".  Measure from the center of the board (at 9") to the halfway point on each side (3.5") and draw an arc between those points.  I did this by hand and just eyeballed it.  

Cut the arc with a jigsaw and sand down any uneven or rough edges.

 Step 4 - Add legs

Use a 1x4 and cut 2 pices at 7.5" long (7.5x3.5)

Measure 3.5" (1.75" on each side of center) and 1.75" from the bottom to mark your angles. 

Use chop saw to cut off each side angle. 

Attach each leg with glue and nail gun or at least 2 screws on each side

Step 5 - Add back ledge piece on BACK of theater

(back side is whichever side the "stage" (rounded top piece) is NOT facing

This piece helps hold in chalk or eraser

Cut a 1x2 @ 19.5" long and attach to the bottom of the frame using glue and brad nails

All finished!  

If you haven't added your dowel piece yet, do that now.  

This project would be easier to paint or stain before screwing/nailing together. Remember to paint front and or back parts with chalkboard paint if you want to be able to write on your theater.  

[Financial] You Need A Budget

Maybe you've just finished your taxes and are tired of thinking about money, but let's just face the facts. Money is part of life. Some of us have it, some not as much, and some just pretend they do. Everyone needs money management tools of some kind. My grandparents first introduced me to the "envelope system". Now, I know that system would work - that's IF you actually cut up or buried all your credit and debit cards.

We live in a world of fast-paced, convenience. That's one major reason there's so many people struggling financially.ou physically put an allotted amount of money into different envelope categories. And then, when you've used all the money in your envelope, that's it - you can't spend anymore.

A few years ago I was on the hunt to find some kind of system that would work for me. There are so many software programs out there that have great potential - but what most were missing was the fundamental rules of budgeting and education to go with it. Managing your money takes discipline! You can't expect to change spending behaviors or have an intimate knowledge of your finances if you simply sit back and let a software program download your bank information or just by logging in your online bank account to check your balance and make sure you still had money in the bank. Admittedly, when we had two incomes and no kids, that was my way of managing money. I just did my best not to spend too much and I just made sure that I money in the checking account to cover all the bills. And the bills...those were set up in the auto bill-pay so I didn't have to worry about that either!

Fast forward a several years later, now with only one reliable income, a hefty mortgage, and three kids - we have a lot more to "manage". So, I set off to find some helpful financial tools - that's when I found YNAB - "You need A Budget".

This is a fantastic resource for managing your money so you know exactly what every dollar is being used for. It does take some discipline -and some learning in the beginning so you understand the software. The greatest part is that there's free online classes, demos, and forums so you can get all the info you need. Plus, I'm pretty sure they do a free trial of the software so you can give it a good trial run.

The main purpose idea that sets this method aside from others is that the goal is to start living on last month's income. So, instead of waiting to get your paycheck so you can pay your bills, you create a buffer (over time) that allows you to already have that cashflow on hand without worrying about whether or not you can pay a bill. You PLAN AHEAD and budget for all your future expenses and even create a cushion for those that are unexpected.

Here's a link to the story behind YNAB and why/how it was created: http://www.youneedabudget.com/company

Just go to YNAB's site and take a look around so you can get a feel for what it's all about. I have used this system for the last few years and I think it has helped me really stick to a budget. Of course, I have fallen off the wagon here and there, but it's not too hard to pick up where you left off and keep going.

[Project]: Girls Room

Girls' Room

Our girls are 5 years apart and since they now share a room, we did a little updating so everything fit in the room a little better.  We painted the room a light grey, added some vinyl flower decals on the wall, and refinished a large dresser for them to share.  

Here is what the original dresser pretty much looked like. I forgot to take "before" pictures of it, but this gives you an idea of the traditional brown stain with gold handles. To give it a more modern look, we spray painted the handles with a "silver metal" finish and painted the dresser black (with a final coat of poly urethane).

A Valentine Wreath

Paper is an amazing tool! It comes in so many forms, colors, thicknesses, and you can cut it any way you like it. Here's a great way to create a little love in your home for Valentine's day.

This simple paper wreath was created over at "the hybrid chick". I think my door is calling for a little facelift this month.

For more Valentine crafts for kids, visit the top 15 ideas posted by Parenting.com