I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
If you're not familiar with Pampers Rewards, you can check my previous post here for all the details - but essentially it's a program to earn free gifts for buying Pampers diapers! Our little girl has been really into "helping" Daddy build things lately, so we decided to get a tool kit just for her. | This post contains affiliate links |
The tool kit is by Melissa and Doug and we were pleased with how sturdy it is. Our daughter really put it to the test, whacking the whole thing all over with the wooden hammer but it still survived.
The kit contains a wooden wrench, screw driver, hammer, bolts/screws, nuts, "nails", and some pieces of wood with holes in it that you can screw or nail together or attach to the side of the tool box.
Miss M and Daddy have really been enjoying building with this set and we've even caught her "working" on her trains with the wrench - this Reward has definitely been a big hit!
Want to see what else we got from Pampers Rewards? Check out our other posts:
If you're not familiar with Pampers Rewards, you can check my previous post here for all the details - but essentially it's a program to earn free gifts for buying Pampers diapers! I usually try to save up our points for something big, but this time I decided to get the Potty Training Chart for our daughter which is one of their smaller rewards. | This post contains affiliate links |
Our little one is currently potty training and it's been slow going. She totally understands the concept and can be successful when she wants to, but usually chooses not to tell anyone that she needs to go and/or completely refuses to use the potty at all. We're hoping that a reward chart will help motivate her to see her progress and get rewarded with a special prize at the end.
We decided to hang the chart next to her little potty so she can watch her progress and see how close she is to earning that special prize. Some good reading material is important too, to help her want to stay on the potty long enough to finish her business (books pictured are: Potty Time with Elmo, Potty, and Counting 123).
Want to see what else we got from Pampers Rewards? Check out our other posts:
Our little one made this Paper Pizza at story time at the public library the other day and I thought it was so cute I wanted to show you all. The story time lady read several pizza-related stories and then had the kids make their own paper pizzas to bring home. The kids really enjoyed this project and I think it would make a great activity for a pizza-themed kids' party.
They gave the kids paper plates and a brown crayon to color the "crust" (our daughter skipped this part), then a paper red circle "tomato sauce" to glue down, shredded yellow paper "cheese", as well as paper mushrooms, pepperonis, and meatballs. After the pizzas were done, the kids took them home in actual pizza boxes which was the perfect finishing touch to the project. These brand new boxes had been bought ahead of time at the local pizza shop for a few cents each.
I don't remember the actual books she read before the project, but I've linked some cute-looking pizza stories here (affiliate links):
Last year we started keeping backyard chickens and they've become a really fun and important addition to our family. We love the fresh eggs we get everyday and our toddler thinks the chickens are super fun. Since she's become so fond of our six Rhode Island Red hens, I thought we'd make her Easter basket chicken-themed this year! Now to just wait until Easter.. | This post contains affiliate links |
Two of "the girls."
We have six Rhode Island Red hens (two of them pictured here), so I tried to find chicken-related items that looked like our girls. Most of the items I found can be purchased through Amazon, but you may also have luck finding similar things at your local store. (Amazon also had other chicken breeds too in case you were looking to find something that looked more like ones you have at home.)
I think creating an animal-themed Easter basket can be a really fun and engaging idea, and could easily be done to reflect whatever animal(s) you might have at home - dogs, cats, horses, fish, etc.
Here are the items I chose for our Chicken-Themed Easter Basket:
Chicken Stuffed Animal - Our little one is going to LOVE this stuffed chicken! It's about the same size and color as our Rhode Island Red hens. Amazon also has stuffed animals of several other breeds of chickens as well.
Easter Eggsfilled with mini M&Ms - Plastic Easter eggs is a given, just simply fill with your little one's favorite candy.
Marshmallow Peeps - Baby chicks for the mama hen! (I included these Marshmallow Peeps in this post as an example, but I actually won't be giving them to our daughter - I don't feel as though she's old enough to eat them just yet.)
Today was my first time going to IKEA and let me tell you, it was ah-mazing!
We live about 3 hours away from the nearest IKEA, and that's probably a good thing because I liked way too many of the things they have there. What blew me away most was how beautiful, sturdy, and reasonably-priced the furniture was.
We left with "big girl" furniture for our daughter's new room since she'll be transitioning out of her crib soon (eek) and moving into what was my craft room. We got her the small Hemnes dresser and Hemnes twin bed (full review and room makeover will be on the blog soon). And since my craft room will become her room, we decided to bite the bullet and get the Hemnes sideboard to hold all my displaced craft supplies. I just loved the Hemnes line from IKEA, can't you tell? We also picked up a cute (and cheap!) wooden train set for her.
I was expecting IKEA to be a lot of modern furniture and accessories, but I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a lot of great "farmhouse-inspired" pieces that fit with our New England style.
I should have taken more pictures for the blog while we were there, but I was just too busy browsing and shopping! ;)
Last year I started the tradition of having our little one make Valentines for close family and friends. This year I wanted to continue the tradition but find a way to make them as inexpensive as possible, and so I settled on the idea of DIY Valentine Postcards. | This post contains affiliate links |
One of the reasons I decided to make postcards this year instead of traditional cards was, not only are postcards cuter, they cost almost 30% less to mail than a traditional card - these postage savings add up! As a result, this project cost next to nothing to do. I already had the paint, toilet paper rolls, rulers, etc. - I just had to run down to the local store and pick up a piece of poster board which cost a whopping 99 cents.
The simple supplies
The how-to is pretty straight forward: use a ruler to measure and cut out your postcards (I made mine 4x5.5", but you can check here for more details on postcard requirements). If you have a paper cutter that can come in quite handy to make quick work of cutting them out.
Next use a ruler and a sharpie to create the back of the postcard, one line down the middle and then three lines on the right hand side for the address.
Next let your toddler go to town! I put down one card at a time to keep the backs clean from paint as well as to keep them from getting over-saturated. To make the heart "stamp" I used toilet paper tubes bent into a heart shape and held together with tape.
Once the cards were done I let our little one go crazy on the table covering.
The cards drying - they came out pretty great!!
I kept the backs very basic with a simple handwritten message and a little heart stamp.
I hope you enjoyed this little Valentine DIY! It was very quick and easy and the possibilities are endless when it comes to how you want to paint, color, or draw the front of the postcard.
Lunchtime is often kind of hectic around here. Mornings tend to be when we do errands, groceries, story time, swim lessons, etc. and we always seem to be rolling back into the house right at lunchtime. This means I often only have a few minutes to get lunch on the table before a hunger-induced meltdown occurs. Having a no-prep, no-cook lunch is key to keeping everyone happy. | This post contains affiliate links and an honest review of a Nûby product |
This little lunch isn't anything fancy but that's what's so great about it. It's essentially a collection of healthy snacks that, when put together, make a great toddler-friendly meal. This meal hits all the main food groups (dairy, protein, grains, fruit, and veggies) and best of all our little one loves it.
Our little one's meal includes a Stonyfield Yogurt drink, hummus on whole grain toast, blueberries, broccoli florets, and some cheese all served on this cute Nûby Flower Child Toddler Plate.
We love this fun plate from Nûby. It's BPA-free and has a great no-skid bottom which is really helpful when your little one is eating. Our daughter especially loves the fun shape, easy grip handles, and the pictures (lady bugs and daisies) printed on the bottom of the plate. This adorable plate has quickly become her favorite for mealtimes.
Toddler Meal Ideas
If you're looking for more meal ideas, mix and match these other great no-cook or quick-cook foods to make your own healthy toddler meal:
smoothies
puree pouches
fruit cups (make sure to get ones packed in juice, not syrup. It's also still a good idea to drain and rinse the fruit to reduce the sugar content a bit)
any fresh fruit (cut to appropriate-sized pieces if needed)
any fresh or previously cooked vegetables (cut to appropriate-sized pieces if needed)
yogurt
cottage cheese
cheese
toast with mashed avocado spread on it
hummus with crackers
hummus with unsalted pretzels
crackers with peanut, almond, or sun butter spread thinly on it (only use nut butters if your child does not have nut allergies)
instant oatmeal
cereal with milk
cereal bar
Always use use your best judgement when it comes to safe foods and safe serving sizes to give to your little one, and always supervise them while eating.
- I received this item for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more information. -
Nûby's Flower Child Toddler Plate can be found at various retailers including Amazon.
Seventh Generation was kind enough to send us one of their Healthy Baby Home Party kits full of little free samples, coupons, and tips to share with our family and friends. I've been a huge fan of Seventh Generation for awhile now and was really excited to share them and this information with others. | This post contains affiliate links |
Our little one made good use out of the packing paper in the box and went to town coloring it up. That's one way to recycle! (Crayons are our own, similar ones linked here.)
A few years ago, before we started trying to get pregnant, I made the decision to switch over as many household cleaners, detergents, and soaps as I could to "cleaner," all-natural versions. There's so much chemicals and additives in most commercial products these days and I figured that it could only be beneficial to make the switch and limit our family's exposure to these things. One of the brands I switched to was Seventh Generation and I haven't looked back.
I've been a big fan of all the Seventh Generation products I've tried so far, but I have especially loved theirlaundry detergent and stain remover. In fact their Free & Clear Laundry Detergent was gentle enough that we found we didn't have to switch to expensive "baby detergent" when our little one was first born.
There were a lot of Healthy Home Tips shared during the party, but I wanted to pass on some of the ones I found most interesting here:
"Purchase toys made from natural materials, like solid wood with non-toxic finishes and natural textiles like organic cotton or wool. The familiar 'new smell' that plastic toys often emit can be a sign that toxic softeners or finishers were used to make the product."
"The term 'fragrance' or 'parfum' on the label of baby care products can represent hundreds of unknown chemicals since manufacturers are not required to disclose the ingredients. Whenever possible, look for products that use 100% natural fragrance for the scent or offer fragrance-free formulations to protect your baby."
"Indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air. Ventilate the home by opening windows, and limit your use of air fresheners and chemical cleaning products that release potentially harmful VOCs into your indoor environment."
- I received samples, coupons, and tips for myself and to share with others, but all opinions expressed are my own. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more information. -
