I have noticed that Elf lovers and Elf haters BOTH have something in common… they are happy with their own way of doing things. Casey has great Elf ideas (that even incorporate Bible verses), and Krista is an example of someone who all of you Elf-Haters could relate to. I am not Pro Elf or Anti Elf.
I think I might even fit into a whole new category.
I’m just kind of an observer of all things elf. So, when I saw these elves, I bought them but I didn’t have any intention of doing the Elf on the Shelf thing.
I actually had a few different ideas in mind:
1) To give them as gifts this year to friends, each holding Personalized Chocolate Bar with caricatures of our family dressed as elves. (I was really proud when I came up with this gift idea!)
2) To tell our kids that Santa sent us elf toys to take with us each time we go to do something special for Christmas (like picking out a Christmas tree, caroling, taking pictures with Santa, or going to parties). If I forget to take them, we will just tell our elves all about them when we get home. Each child gets their own elf and it is simply a plush toy – no magic involved.
3) To decorate with the little cuties.
4) To make boring spots of our house fun and festive…. like the microwave. I love that their hands velcro together.
There isn’t going to be much more to it than that for me, but this was exactly the elf I had been looking for if I was ever going to consider including Elves in our holiday traditions or household.
But maybe you do want this to be your Elf on the Shelf and in that case, CLICK HERE and go buy them. 🙂
Jessica and I are both Momprenuers that juggle both the lifestyles of stay-at-home moms and working moms. My art and design business, Kidspired Creations, went on an exciting and unexpected journey this summer that has, to say the least, made it especially hard to find time to blog (my deepest apologies). But let me tell you a little bit about what has been going on and about how we have been giving back to an amazing organization called St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – perhaps you’ve heard of it? This is Bennett. His story has touched thousands of lives and counting! In December 2013, the Coleman family began an unexpected journey as Bennett, just 17 months old at the time, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was admitted to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis for treatment where he and his family spent the last few months of his life here on earth. On april 28, 2014, the cancer died and Bennett began his new life, healed, happy and free of pain in heaven. The staff, nurses, doctors, patients and families at St. Jude are incredible and held the hands of the Coleman family all the way…
Being close friends with the Colemans, my business partner, Brooke, and I shared updates about Bennett with our kids. They learned all about St. Jude, cancer research and treatment, and the wonderful care that the organization provides families free of charge! Brooke’s son Cooper, age 4, decided that he wanted to raise money for Baby Bennett. He said, “I love God. I love to paint. And I love Bennett.” He asked his mom to help him sell some paintings so he could donate the money to St. Jude. Brooke started a Facebook page, Cooper Paints, to document Cooper’s donation efforts and art endeavors…
…and this got Brooke and I thinking… thinking about how much our kids enjoy painting… and how beautiful each creation is… and how more kids would probably like to do what Cooper is doing… and who can resist a beautiful piece of artwork made with love from a child?
Photo Credit: Kelsey Ann Photography
And thus, Blue Balloon was born – named for the blue balloons that family, friends and prayer warriors have released to celebrate Bennett’s life. Here, child artists can donate paintings to sell and the proceeds will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in honor of Bennett Coleman.
Cooper and his friends have created true KIDspired art! Each 8″x10″ piece was hand-painted with love and is available for purchase HERE for $15.
This summer, Blue Balloon has been blessed by our community here in Lafayette, Louisiana. We were given space to host a Paint and Donate station at the Mommy & Me Expo in June where nearly 60 kids donated their time and talents to make and sell artwork for St. Jude!
We then were invited to sell those paintings at Applause for a Cause, a play, also benefiting St. Jude, and the organizers of the Baby & Kidz Expo donated booth space for us to sell paintings at their super successful event as well.
Our wonderful donors, volunteers, artists and vendor events!
Many businesses around the area donated materials and services for Blue Balloon to participate in these events! Many thanks to Office Depot and Lowe’s of New Iberia and Michael’s Arts and Crafts and Super-1 Foods of Lafayette for donating art and cleanup supplies. Also, to Kidz 337 Magazine for donating ad and article space and Kelsey Ann Photography for providing professional promotional pictures!
We surpassed our goal!
With the help of these businesses and events, our high school volunteers, child artists ages 1 to 16 years old, and including the auctioned artwork that raised $200 at Bennett’s Bash in Lafayette, Blue Balloon has raised over $1300 for St. Jude! More than $300 over our original goal!
So, now we have a new goal!
We are hoping to raise $1500 by August 15, 2014! For just $15 you can purchase a painting and help us meet our new goal! Your entire $15 will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help toward research, treatment and care for patients and families as they battle this horrible disease. St. Jude operates solely on donations and at no cost to the families so they can focus 100% on their loved ones.
Please visit our Storenvy shop to view the Blue Balloon collection and purchase a painting for just $15!
Photo credit: Kelsey Ann Photography
To read all about Bennett and the Coleman family, you can follow them on Facebook and #pray4babybennett. If you would like to make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, please visit http://www.stjude.org.
Photo credit: Kelsey Ann Photography
Kidspired Creations and The Mommy Teacher remains inspired by the next generation of artists who give back! If your child would like to donate artwork, please e-mail me at casey@kidspiredcreations.com or Brooke at brooke@kidspiredcreations.com! In memory of our buddy Bennett, Little Blessed One…
“Blessed is the man who trusts int he Lord, whose confidence is in Him.” Jeremiah 17:7
Are there any parents out there lost in summer?
Some days I’m lost in the best ways….playing and swimming the day away with my three kids.
Other days, I’m lost in an August daydream when I will have even a few hours to run errands alone.
Even though I might get a little antsy some days for a little reprieve, I really admire (and am inspired by) moms who have not allowed their work load or daily tasks to drown out what really matters as a parent… making time for family.
So, it’s not very often that you get to spotlight a mom who has accomplished so many life goals as an athlete and entrepreneur (read bio at the end of the post!). AND she also shares tips for moms like me, with young kids, to make time as a family (perfect timing in light of summer and the World Cup!).
U.S. soccer legend Kristine Lilly, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Play Ambassador for Let’s Play,an initiative led by Dr Pepper Snapple Group to get kids and families active nationwide,shares tips below on how she transforms the soccer drills she learned on the field into fun games that keep her kids active all summer long.
1. Dribble Relay
o Set up some small orange cones or plastic cups in a zig-zag pattern.
o Divide your family into two equal groups and give one person from each team a soccer ball. Have the team members stand on opposite ends of the yard.
o To begin, the team member with the soccer ball has to dribble around each cone to the other side, tag their teammate and pass them the ball.
o Then, the teammate has to dribble the ball back through the cones and race to the other end of the field. The team to complete the obstacle course first, wins!
2. Kick-out Keep-away
o Great for a large group of kids, give all players a soccer ball (or any type of ball they can kick around) except for the person who is “it.”
o Set up four cones or plastic cups on each corner of your “field,” and when the game begins, all players dribble their ball while the person who is “it” tries to kick each ball out of bounds.
o When a player’s ball is kicked out of bounds, he/she is eliminated. The last player with a ball wins!
3. High-Five Goals
o Set up a couple of markers to signify a “goal.”
o Pass the soccer ball to your child, and have them kick it back to you.
o After three kicks back and forth, tell them to run over to you and give you a high-five, and then kick the ball into the goal. This is a great game for little ones!
4. Sideline Sprints
o Put a mark on the lawn or driveway about 15 yards away, or whatever distance works best for your space.
o Run to the line and back five times.
o Next, do five jumping jacks and count them off together out loud.
o Continue the sequence, but this time, run to the line and back four times, and work your way down to one time. It is a great workout game for parents AND kids, and helps little ones learn how to count.
5. Hydration Station
o It’s so important to stay hydrated when you’re playing outside in the heat. I like to keep a small cooler filled with cold water or juice in the fridge so I can easily grab it and during outdoor play in the summer.
o Just make sure your kids don’t drench the “coach” after they score a goal!
Kristine Lilly is a mom and an American soccer player who last played professionally for the Boston Breakers women’s professional soccer team. She was a member of the United States women’s national soccer team for 24 years and has appeared in more international matches than any other player in the sport, appearing in her 352nd and final match against Mexico in a World Cup qualifier in November 2010. She is the founder of the Kristine Lilly Soccer Academy and author of an e-book, Girls Soccer: My Story. Lilly lives with her husband and their two daughters outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
Head’s up! Father’s day is THIS WEEKEND, not next like I kept telling myself. My son had this brilliant idea to buy my husband some outdoor speakers for Father’s Day, which I really thought was a great idea (something I would enjoy too), but have you checked out the prices for those babies? Yeah – it’s like the cost of formula for a year. Not gonna happen.
Keep on brainstorming… Well, one thing my husband and I have always wanted is a rain chain… especially the copper ones that hang from beautiful, expensive copper gutters that we don’t have (as seen here in this video). And those can be upwards of $100 or more… also not going to happen.
So, I decided that we are going to forego the pretty copper and make our own! And I always say, “who can resist something handmade by kids?” Let’s take a zero off of that $100 and make something similar for $10!
Supplies: 6 or more small terra cotta pots, 2 – 36″ extender chains for hanging planters
My kids and I picked up these small terra cotta pots from the Dollar General for $1 each. They thought these were beautiful with the flowers painted on them… but I thought “eek!” we can paint that… which they were ok with since I mentioned they would be the ones painting them.
We bought 6 of them (because that’s what they had) and it makes a pretty decent length for a rain chain in my opinion. We also purchased 36″ extender chains for hanging planters from the Dollar General which was $1.50… so we got 2 of them and got to work!
Make sure that your pots have holes in the bottom because that is essential for this project for the chain to go through, and for the water to drain as well (because this is also a functional project).
The chain links are supposed to be bigger than the hole so your pots do not slip down the chain. But how do you get the chain through the hole?
Using pliers I removed the link where I wanted my pot to rest. I took that link and squished one side down which was the perfect size to go through the pot.
I put about 5-6 links between one pot and the next.
Then my kids wanted to do some more painting so I let them have at it 🙂
This project probably took us about 30 minutes. I will probably also get a large saucer and put some river rocks in it to collect water on the ground. A nice little . to the ! (But then this would be more than a $10 project).
Extra: Extra tip means extra $$. If you want to seal the paint, use a clear matte acrylic spray paint that you can find at stores that sell spray paint (Walmart, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, etc.).
Happy Fathers Day to all of you Daddy Teachers and to all the Mommy Teachers who play both roles!
On the road with my kids, my toddler was screaming at me because she hates the car. I decided it was time to teach them a new song to re-direct the irritable one’s attention.
I figured it was time to teach my kids my phone number (even though I PRAY they never get lost!). It was one of those judgment calls where I figure that it is better for them to know my number than to assume that I am going to be a perfect parent and never miss a beat (with three very little children!).
This song popped into my head to the tune of “Oh My Darlin'” and I sang it multiple times on the way home:
We have practiced it enough now that they actually do know the whole thing, but I didn’t want to share my phone number publicly on YouTube so I posted the one they didn’t quite get right. Haha.
I’m pretty sure it can go with any phone number.
“(_ _ _) – _ _ _ – _ _ _ _
That’s my mommy’s phone number.
If I’m lost, please call my mom!”
Since then I have asked them questions “WHat are you going to do if you’re lost?”
And I give them the answers like “I know my mommy’s number…. can you call her?”
My kid’s also know their whole names and mine to give someone helpful information to find us quickly if for some reason it is needed.
I don’t plan on losing my children any time soon, but I also want to have a plan in place just to be sure!
