Super easy silk screening for sports numbers!

Ok, so two out of my three brothers play high school football. Its a little interesting because both of them play for different schools. I try to not miss a single game of theirs if I can avoid it.. and yes I bring BOTH of my kids to every game. My youngest brother plays for Riverton High School (purple, black, and silver) while my second to youngest brother plays for Herriman High School (red, blue, and gold). I decided I wanted to make my daughter a shirt with their numbers on the back.. but getting the iron on numbers can be a little expensive. So.. I was out at Walmart and I saw these stencils for sports numbers. I decided to buy them and see what I could come up with since the pack was only $2.50 (or something around there.. give or take a few cents). What I came up with looks awesome! I cannot wait to do her other onesie! Anyways.. here are the instructions. This was easy, cheap, and it only took me about 10-15 minutes to do. 

First off I started with a purple onesie (for Riverton) and flipped it over so the back was showing. (also.. I got this purple onesie for $1.50 on clearance at Walmart). You will the stencils, fabric puff paint, card stock or some kind of thick paper, and a foam bowl or something to wipe excess paint on.

Now center  your peel off stencils and stick them to the fabric (this actually wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be) also as you can see I decided to not use the number symbol.. I will use it on the front later I think.

Squirt your puff paint just in the center of the numbers like shown above, I promise you will not need any more than that.

Now, I ripped off a little piece of the thick paper, it was too hard with the whole big piece. But make sure when you have your piece of paper that you leave a straight edge. Use this paper to smear and scrape around the paint so that all of the inside number is covered. Just be careful to not get the paint way too close to the edge.

Now use the straight edge of your paper to slowly even out and scrape off all the excess paint. Whenever I would get the excess paint on the paper I would just wipe it off on the foam bowl.

Once you are done, carefully peel off the stencils (they are re-usable so put them back on their waxy paper). I think it turned out really nice! And the texture of it so far feels like it isn't going to crack or peel off.

Now my little sweetie can support her uncle at his football games! I am going to stencil on "I ♥ 28 on the front of the onesie once the back is dry. It says on the puff paint bottle that the paint takes 4 hours to dry. But I think with a thin coat like this it would honestly only take a couple. Only a few minutes after I did this I could touch it without it sticking on my fingers. I am going to leave it over night (because I did this project at 10:30 at night) and then do the front in the morning! I hope this helps! 

HAPPY FOOTBALL SEASON! WOOOO!

 

Gooey Fun!

Ok, So I have seen about a million recipes for the homemade "gak" or whatever on Pinterest. But they all used Borax.. and unfortunately every store I went to was out of stock.. must be pretty dang popular stuff. So I tried to find a recipe that didn't use it. After browsing a bunch of recipes I found one that used liquid starch instead and it seemed super straight forward.. so I figured I would experiment and see how it worked. Well.. lets just say it turned out awesome and it was SO SO SO much fun! Me and my son both had a blast playing with this stuff.

Liquid starch (about $1.80 at Walmart in the laundry detergent isle), white school glue (about .35¢ a bottle at Target for their back to school sale), and some food coloring ($1.99 at Target)

Dump the entire bottle of glue into a bowl.. no measuring necessary.. just dump as much of it in as you can.

Add your food coloring. I think we added 5 or so drops of food coloring. 

Now, little by little add more and more liquid starch and just mix it. I would say we added about a tablespoon at a time. and it will get to a point where you almost think there is a little too much starch because it will be harder to mix. And at this point you just gotta get your hands dirty. Just squish it until  all the liquid is soaked in. If I HAD to put an estimate on the measurement of starch I would say we maybe used about 5-7 Tablespoons.. but that is totally just a guess... So don't hate me if I am wrong. Honestly I think its just easier to add a little at a time and you will just know when its ready to play with.

This was so much fun and seriously took maybe 5 minutes to make and cost less than $5 to buy everything to do it.

For those of you who are wondering about the goo getting in your kids hair or on their clothes. It got all over my son's clothes and it got in his long curly hair. I rinsed his shirt under some running water and scrubbed the fabric together and it came right off. I don't know if it would be this easy while it was dry.. but it didn't stain and it came off really easily. And as far as the hair I just got a wet rag and got it out. To make thing easier next time I might not have him wear a shirt. But at least I know I could get it out of clothes if it got on them again. And yes.. it did stain our hands a tint of blue but it also seemed to wash right off with soap and water.

Have fun and thanks for reading!

*update 8-22-13*

• Ok, so afterwards I found some of this goo in his hair that had dried out.. it was SUPER easy to just pick out when it was dry.
• Also.. this stuff does not keep well, I put it in a Tupperware container and went to play with it two days later and it was too sticky to get off my hands. I am going to try another recipe with Borax at some point and see how that holds up. Apparently it works a lot better.

Worlds Best Dad Award!

So.. my husband totally won the worlds best dad award the other day. As many of you know.. my son is OBSESSED with Toy Story (all of them) and has the full sized Buzz Lightyear and Woody toys. So.. His Buzz Lightyear has been lost for at least a month. My mom told me that she thought she might have seen it in her truck... but she thought it looked broken. I very wearily looked for the "pieces" of it in the truck and finally found him. The only part of him that was broken was.. well.. the fact that his head had been popped clean off. I tried and tried and had no idea how to get it back on. So I brought it downstairs to my husband and showed him the damage.
For my husbands job he has to pick apart machines and put them back together every single day. He said that all he would have to do is take the thing apart to get to the little piece that his head hooked onto. I was really hoping that my son wouldn't see him fixing it.. due to the fact that I thought he would freak out seeing Buzz Lightyear's head popped off his body.

Eventually enough of his buttons got pushed that my son came rushing over to see his poor friend being worked on. He was worried but also SO happy that his daddy was fixing his favorite toy. He kept on saying "Daddy fixing it! To infinity and beyond!" It was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

An hour later my son had his beloved toy back and has not played with anything else for 24 hours now. It just makes me happy that my son has a dad that would drop everything  he is doing to work on his boys favorite toy. I am the luckiest wife in the world.

Playing With Cars!

Fun with Dollar Tree stuff!

On what I believe was my last post I talked about dollar store stuff. I purchased some washable colored markers and some 50¢ poster board. I made another trip to the dollar store and also found some Toy Story toys.. and if you know my son you would know that he is OBSESSED with Toy Story. So.. that was $2 well spent.

Since I still had one poster board and the markers, I thought it might be fun to try and come up with something else fun to do, besides just scribbling all over the paper.

We haven't gotten around to buying one of those road map rugs. So, I decided to draw one and then dump out all of the kiddos cars and see if the cheap version would still be fun. Lets just say a couple of hours went by before we decided to turn the paper over and scribble all over the back of it with the markers again.
Not only did he have fun driving his cars all over it, but his train, helicopter, and he walked Buzz and Woody all over it as well.












(don't judge.. I realize I spelled helicopter wrong on the paper *sigh*)

Just another fun thing to do for only $1.50 ($3.50 if  you count Buzz and Woody) if you are buying it for the first time! I am always amazed with the fun things we can do with stuff bought from the Dollar Tree!

Super Cheap and Easy Fun!

Today I was at the Dollar Tree.. you will hear me talk about the Dollar Tree alot, I freaking love that store. And I found a pack of washable markers and some 50¢ poster board. So I bought some and thought that maybe my son and I could have some fun with it later in the day.

Well.. I can honestly say it was some of the best $1.50 I have ever spent! We colored on this piece of paper for probably 2 hours, on the front and back. And yes.. he did get a little bit of marker on him, but it washed off with just a little bit of water.. totally worth it for how much fun we had.

My little stud showing off his art work

Not only did he have fun coloring but he accidentally got the paper to stand up on its own.. so then he played with it for about 30 minutes as a fort wall.. until it fell over.

I know this is a short post.. but seriously.. if you have  Dollar Tree in your area you really need to go there. It is my absolute favorite place to get random things to play with my son. I am always surprised with the awesome things I find there.

Thanks for reading! ♥

Toilet Training Drama

I know that most of the posts you see about toilet training are about HOW to toilet train. This post is not.. sorry. This post is about how sick and tired I am of seeing posts that make me feel like a bad mom because my son is 2½ and not potty trained yet.

Waaaahhhhhh! we're so sad about potty training myths!

After reading about a million articles the other night on how to potty train your kids, and what age is best.. blah blah. I about had a panic attack thinking that I am a horrible mom. I cannot even begin to tell you how many people say that if your kid isn't potty trained by 2- 2½ that you are doing it wrong, and your kid will have a hard time being a functioning adult (slightly exaggerated). So I started crying to my husband saying that I must have done something terribly wrong. He laughed and said that I had nothing to worry about, he said that NONE of his 3 brothers or himself were potty trained by 2 ½. So I started asking all my friends and family when their kids were potty trained. All of my friends and families kids were potty trained from ages 2-5, now.. that is quite a different range than what you see online. And I asked a lot of people, so I know I am not just talking to some strange group who happened to only have late bloomers.

I also talked to my son's pediatrician about potty training back a few months ago before I had my daughter. She told me that in her opinion, we should wait to potty train until our son is closer to 3. Because of the time we were going to have our daughter, he would most likely regress anyways. She said that there is nothing wrong with kids potty training a little bit later, because when it comes down to it.. they are ready when they are ready. Now people.. this is coming from a doctor.. so .. there you go!

I am not saying that you shouldn't try to potty train  your kids until later. All I am saying is that when  your kids are ready... they are ready. And right now my 2½ year old is not ready for the toilet, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you try to force your kids too early to potty train you are going to have problems. These problems will most likely include.. them not being potty trained, and making both of you more frustrated. Or if you are WAY too forceful.. you are probably damaging your child and making them feel naughty when they are not.

This is mostly just a rant post, but hopefully it will give some comfort to other moms. You are not a bad mom or dad just because you can't work miracles and make your child ready for the toilet earlier than they are ready.

Thanks for reading! ♥

Mother of the Rowdy Child

Before I say anything, I need to state that my son is only 2.. so this may be different when kids are other ages.

As parents we all have or will go through the stage of the terrible twos. Around this age our kids do not want to listen to a word we say, and have tantrums that make angry tigers look like kittens. To top it off many of us have baby number two right around this age, like me. And when that happens, your child goes through a major jealousy streak.

Now, all children are rowdy to a point. But then there are a few who like to play a little more roughly than the other kids. This is how my little boy is, and I wouldn't have him be any other way.
Now before you all go and think that he is a bully.. he is absolutely not. When I say that he is rough I mean that he will grab people and try to hug them to get their attention, likes to jump around, run around (very rough and tumble), and he is very loud and likes to growl and "rawr" at people.. because my son likes to think he is a dragon. This scares a lot of kids and it makes them not want to play with him. I also get a lot of weird looks from parents when  my son awkwardly will look at a kid he wants to play with and start things off by saying, "RAWR! i'm a dragon!" My son has grown up with all 3 of his uncles ranging in ages from 15-20. And as a kid growing up we were all very rough with each other. Not only that, but me and my husband like to play rough and tickle and play wrestle.

I have recently become very frustrated when I try to take my boy to playgrounds and play places. So many kids will turn him down and not want to play with him because he is running around and yelling like the little crazy boy that he is. And certain parents who happened to have more calm children look at me like there is something wrong with my child and me. And it is SO frustrating I cannot even explain in words how it makes me feel. For example.. Today I was at a McDonald's play place with my son. There were too many kids to count playing and running about. And every single kid (granted they were all at least a year or two older than him) turned him down and wouldn't play with him, all just because he tried to jump right in and play. Eventually he just started playing by himself, which hurt my heart seeing him sad and playing alone. After a little while most of the kids went home, except for this cute little girl. My son tried to go up and play with her, and he was running around, jumping on things, and "rawring" like he was a dragon, all with a huge smile on his face. And she would stick her arm out and push him away and then run to her dad saying that he was being mean to her. And her dad obviously knowing that my son was not, was telling her that he was just trying to play. But she didn't care, and still would avoid him at all costs.

This hurt my feelings so bad, because all I want is for my boy to be able to play with other kids. Now I know that not all kids like to play rough. But that doesn't mean its wrong when my son does, or when ANY other child does! That is just how some kids play.

But then when that other 1 out of 100 child will come up to my boy on the playground and be just as hyper as he is I feel a huge sigh of relief. And I will see them both yelling and "rawring" at each other, laughing and just having a great time. Most of the time when this happens, me and the other parent will look at each other with relief, knowing that we are not alone. And me being the idiot that I am.. will never remember to get their information, so that we can have play dates and what not.

The reason I am posting this is because I truly believe that there is nothing wrong with my child being a little extra rowdy. I have taught him not to be mean, or hit people, and I occasionally have to remind him that he needs to have a space bubble. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with my child playing the way he plays or being the way that he is. Just because one parent happened to have children that are more mellow, or shy on the playground does not mean that is how all kids are supposed to be. And it most certainly does not mean that there is anything wrong with my son.

You will find all kinds of posts on the internet about how to "mellow" your children out. And unless your child is being mean spirited, or rude, I don't think its fair to try and change them, just because you feel that they are a little more rowdy. Some parents feel that they have all the answers for having perfect little children. And maybe some parents were just blessed with little angels, so they feel like all of their teaching methods work. And one day maybe that parent will be blessed with a little rowdy child and realize that they DON'T have all the answers.

All kids play differently, some are shy, rough, hyper, sensitive, a leader, a follower, anything.. there is nothing wrong with the way your child wants to play with other kids. Again, I need to state that there is a specific difference with bullying. I feel that in a lot of ways my son has been bullied on the playground. When other kids don't like the way he is running around, and they will push him down and tell him to go away, or try to block him off from certain areas of the playground. And usually in this scenario there is no parent to be seen.. which is usually frustrating, because I am not a playground nazi, and I will usually never tell another mothers child what to do.

Hopefully this will give some other mom out there the comfort she needs in knowing that she is not alone with her kids playing "rowdy" with other kids. I sure as hell know that I feel the greatest comfort when I see other kids that are just as crazy as mine.

You can judge me if you want and say that maybe I am doing it all wrong by letting my son be the way he is. But I will not care, because he is perfect just the way he is, just the way your kids are perfect the way they are.

Thanks for reading! ♥