The Learning Center

This is our "Learning Center". I got this great idea from a friend who had a learning board for her daughter. Each week she would change out what was going to be taught. So I am trying to do the same thing for Hanna. The wall space in our toy room is a little limited so I had to put it behind the door. I just bought a poster board and hot glue gunned sheet protectors that I cut in half. Then I type something up each week, mostly things she needs to work on. She is working on spelling,rhyming, numbers, Hanna can count to 100 but writing them and identifying the numbers is harder for her. She is also learning different shapes and her months.


The day of the week I got at the Dollar Store. I just velcroed those on since it will be changed every day.














Then on the bottom I found teaching poster boards at the Dollar Store. She has the alphabet, learning time, periodic table, solar system and maps. I laminated them, hole punched the top and nailed two nails in the door so she can take them on and off. I am trying to sit with her at least 1/2 each day and go over the "Learning Center". It is a great way to spend one on one time with her and she is also learning.

Pancakes & Haircuts

Happy National Pancake Day!! I wanted to post this before I post pictures to give you a dinner idea and a great pancake recipe. We are going to have banana pancakes for dinner tonight in recognition of National Pancake Day!!

Banana Pancakes

1 c of flour
2 -1/2 tsp of white sugar
1 -1/4 tsp of baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg beaten
2/3 c of milk
1 Tbls and 1 tsp of vegetable oil
1 ripe banana - you can pretty much add any fruit you want to this recipe if you do not like bananas
****I forgot to mention with the banana pancakes I add 1 tsp. of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.*****
1.Combine flour. sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl mix together egg, milk, oil and bananas. (An easy way to mash bananas is to put them in a Ziploc baggie and mash with your hands.)
2.Stir flour mixture into banana mixture, batter will be slightly lumpy.
3.Heat lightly oiled pan over medium high heat. Use about 1/4 scoop of batter for each pancake. Cook until golden brown on each side.

Soooo yummy!!

Today Hanna got a haircut! Hanna has not had a haircut for 2 1/2 years! Her hair is down her back and since I cut my hair she says she wants to cut her hair short too...so cute! Then Ava will get her very first haircut! I will post before and after tonight. ****Also I needed to add that I forgot Hanna did have a haircut over Thanksgiving weekend but just a little trim.*****

Ava didn't get her haircut. This was taken before we went, needless to say her mood did not change and she was not having any part of it. So maybe next time!

Our Little Gallery

I love my girl's art and school papers but am not a huge fan of a cluttery refrigerator. So I found a cute way to display my little aspiring artist work. In their toy room I decided to designate a wall just for them so they can showcase their masterpieces. First we discovered magnetic paint at Home Depot. So they have a magnetic board on the wall. The magnetic paint dries to a dark gray/black color but then you can put one coat of another color if you do not like the the gray. Then for a border I glued ribbon with tacky glue or you could use elmers glue.


We were having trouble with the magnets holding the paper so I thought close pins would be able to hold the paper better since the magnet would be directly on the wall and not through the paper. It worked so much better. I painted the clothes pins with acrylic paint and then hot glue gunned a magnet that I purchased at Michael's.
I think gluing fabric on the clothes pins would be really cute as well.


My favorite out of this whole project was transforming skirt hangers
into hanging art displays. I bought the skirt hangers at Target, I got a 4 pack for $5. To piant them you have to sand them down a little or the paint will not stick as well. Then I painted them with acrylic paint and voila! I also want to stencil their names on the wood but another day :)

Artists for the day

Today we had fun painting. The girls used their hands and got really messy so it was fun! I bought some canvases at Michaels, they were 2 for $7.99 and then I used a 40% coupon so it was a good deal! We just used acrylic paint and those are on sale right now for .49 a bottle. So this was an inexpensive and fun way to spend the afternoon. The great thing is they could paint over them and make a new creation.





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Learning the United States

About a year ago or so I found some great educational books at the dollar store one being a flap up book of the United States. About a couple months ago Hanna took great interest and was really determined to learn all of the states. She practiced everyday and within a month and half of practicing she now knows all her states and location. While she was learning I made her this puzzle map. Each state has velcro on it and also has the capital written on the other side. That is her latest challenge, she knows about 10. I got the map from the following link: http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps/print-usa-maps.html. I thought another great idea would be to make some "place maps" of the United States and other continents so while they are eating they could look over and talk about their maps. I will save that one for another day :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Valentine's Day is in my top 3 favorite holidays. We had a fun day that started with Craig making all the girls french toast. The girls got their Valentine's Day baskets. They were so excited they did not want to peek!



Since we have had kids and usually do not go out
on actual Valentine's Day, I usually make fondue since our favorite restaurant is Mona Lisa. I came up with a quick chocolate fondue recipe. I just use Toblerone chocolate and a little bit of half & half. When melting chocolate you need to have your fondue pot at a low setting or it will scorch. I melt the chocolate and then add a little half & half or you could also use whipping cream to make it a little more creamy. It is really yummy! Hope everybody had a great Valentines Day!

Jumpin' Jungle & Heart Shaped Pizza

We had so much fun today at the new Jumpin Jungle for a birthday party. It is going to open to the public on Wednesday so all you Nampa, Idahoians you will have so much fun with your kids!!





Then we we came home to a heart shaped pizza for Valentine's Day Eve :) The girls had a great day.....can't wait for Valentine's Day tomorrow!!!!

Valentine's Day Cards & Cookies

I truly love Valentine's Day! I think it is just a fun day of the year to let people know you care and appreciate them so I love to go all out! The girls made cards for their grandparents. I had some pictures that I printed off and they used some of the heart cut outs from Hanna's Valentine necklaces.





We also made some Peanut Butter Blossom cookies for friends & neighbors. Instead of using Hershey Kisses I used Hershey Bliss Hearts.

Valentine's Day Candy Necklaces

Hanna had a Valentines Day party at school today. I thought it would be fun to give her classmates a Valentine they could wear. We made candy necklaces that turned out cute and fun to do with the girls. Well they did get bored after a while so I had to recruit Craig.

I only had to buy some Valentine's Day candy all other materials I had with the girls craft stuff.

First we made the card by cutting out a heart from construction paper. Hanna decorated the hearts with a stamp. She signed her name to each card.

I cut out about 3' of plastic wrap and cut it down the middle. Place the candy even length throughout the plastic wrap and wrap the candy in the wrap. Tie each end of candy with gift wrap string and then tie the ends of the plastic wrap together. Lastly I attached the Valentine heart that Hanna made to the center with ribbon.