Christmas tree sensory play

My girlfriend gave me some trimmings off her fresh Christmas tree to spruce up my outdoor planter. I had some left over so I decided to throw some in a pot and make a quick and easy Christmas arrangement. The little monster wanted to help so I thought, why not let her make her own. I threw some in her sensory table and let her go to town! Mmmmm nothing beats fresh pine scent!

 

 

Play dough snowmen

Yules had fun creating these super cute snowmen using play dough and random loose parts a couple weeks ago!

We whipped out the play dough again today and incorporated some Mr. Potato Head accessories.

 

Wine and Crafts

Wine and crafts night! Sounds like a jolly ol' time or some serious Pinterest fails in the making! Haha!

I had a couple gals over for an evening of wine and crafts. Most of which were more interested in wine than crafts, so I picked a pretty simple craft. So simple in fact that the next day the little monster made some as well... resulting in the same caliber end product. Which means this craft is pretty much suitable for anyone and any skill level!

We made some lovely snowflake ornaments out of wooden clothespins. Simple twist to take apart and glue them back together to form a snowflake and paint. We tied on some twine to hang as ornaments or they could be cute gift tags or even cute coasters.

 
 And what's wine and crafts without munchies...

DIY Christmas tree basket

So as you all know, I got a ginormous Christmas tree last year which I am still in love with even though it is a bit of a pain to put up. I struggled to find a tree skirt to fit the very wide base/stand and ended up just wrapping a blanket throw around the base. What I really wanted was a metal tree collar or even a basket tree collar... but of course those did not exist in the size that I needed. So this year I vowed to DIY one up.

We had some chicken wire fencing laying around the garage (we used as temporary fencing for Kalbs before we got a real fence put up). I cut it to size... over 13 feet long... that's how beasty this tree base is! I used ribbon and weaved through the fencing for a woven basket look. I'm really pleased with the outcome as it gives the tree a completeness and it is definitely a step up from the blanket last year! Lol! The question know is how on earth am I going to store this thing? Haha!

Ice cream cone Christmas trees!

The monster and her cousins made Christmas tree treats as an easy alternative to gingerbread houses. I like it better for little kids because you do not have to worry about the damn house collapsing. Plus it is a great way to use up Halloween candy! I posted the pic to my FamJam chat and they voted to see which tree was the best. Apparently my family does not take into account age or creative licensing!! Haha can you guess which one Yules made...

Christmas cards!

These are the Christmas cards that the little monster made this year. I tried to think of something that was made mostly by her but that wasn't too special looking either... and most importantly EASY! Aside from me cutting the triangles (only because we were in a rush) Yules did everything herself. She glued on the tree, decorated with stickers and wrote her name on the back. Super easy card or art activity you can do with your monsters!

B is for birch

So once upon a time there was this lady in one of my Facebook groups that meant to type birch but I guess it autocorrected to bitch. So her post looking for a birch cabinet was super vulgar and also super hilarious. Anyways, it's totally stuck and I use the word "birch" quite a bit now because I think it's sooooo funny!

 

Aside from birch being my new favorite word, I'm also quite obsessed with the actual tree. So much so that it was the first tree that I picked out for our backyard. Anyways, I got my hands on some birch branches for a couple diy decor things around the house.

 

1. Outdoor Christmas planter
It looks pretty much similar to last year with me sticking a bunch of stuff into our planter and calling it a day but a little bit better!! Last year I used fresh greens but this year the weather was unusually warm and I was a bit worried that it might look a little sad by Christmas since I had it up at the beginning of November. So I used mostly faux greenery to make sure it would look good all season. I actually used the bottom half of a 2 piece artificial Christmas tree as the base of my planter. (I used the top half of the tree as a mini Christmas tree for Yules). Sometimes I'm such a genius I surprise myself. Anyways, this made it super full at the bottom and made everything else I jammed in there way more stable. I added the birch branches for height and then regular twiggy tree branches for texture. I finished off with random dollarstore greenery and the sparkly picks from last year. I later added some real tree trimmings that a lovely friend cut off her fresh Christmas tree for me! I love love love how it turned out!

2. Birch candles

I had quite a bit of birch left over after I trimmed the pieces I needed for my planter so I had husband make me some candle holders. All you need to do is cut the birch to size and drill a hole for the tealight candle. I made 2 arrangements with the candles. The first one is simply just placed on top off a super cute wooden charger plate. I dressed it up with some Christmas tree greens, berries and acorns!

 

The second arrangement was a bit more work. I envisioned a super long and thin centerpiece, which Husband had to make for me! He built a simple 3 foot long wood box out of left over fence boards that we had laying around in the garage. We painted it in grey chalkpaint and then sanded it down a bit to give it a slightly distressed look. I know, I know... who the heck am I? Wood? Distressed? I don't blog for a few months and I'm like a different person! Lol Anyways, I filled the box with Christmas garland, candles, sparkly picks, ornaments and of course the birch candle holders. I am also in love with how this turned out! Not too shabby (literally) if I do say so myself!

 

So there you have it my "birches"... my diy birch projects!

Hello! It's me...

So it's obvious that I have given up on this blog! Boo! Insert sad emo face!

I was flipping through my abandoned blog and got a little Emo... okay a lot emo. There were so many moments and memories and projects that I had forgotten all about.  I'm no spring chicken anymore and my memory is not what it used to be at all! I was reminded of how awesome it was to have this blog to document our crazy life and be able to look back and actually... remember!!!! Haha
So anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I'm going to try super hard to keep this blog going again. If not for the handful of you that have been borderline harassing me, then for myself!! Insert happy smiley face!!

So our gift to you this Holiday season is More us!

 

 

 

DIY Body Butter

Yules and I attempted to make some body butter today! Not too shabby for our first try. You can pretty much add whatever you want and all you have to do is melt, chill and whip! We used coconut oil, cacao butter, shea butter and argan oil! If we can do it, anyone can! Easy peasy lemon squeezie! Yules said that she smelled like chocolate muffins when I slathered it on her... and she was right! So yummy!

Butterflies!

Bugs are gross and creep me out! But I don't want Yules thinking they are gross, so I've Mommed-up and we play with bugs now! We explored butterflies this spring! We watched the caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies! I'm still completely mesmerized with the transformation... even though this is my third time doing it! Yules really really enjoyed observing the changes and life cycle!

 Then we had a butterfly release partay and said good-bye!

 

 

DIY Water Cart

I've been obsessed with making Yules a water-wall for water play! So obsessed in fact that I have not made her one for the past 2 years! Haha! But this year, I was determined to get 'er done! I spent lots of time pinteresting my options and then ultimately came up with something completely different! Instead of a wall, I decided to make my water exploration movable! I made a water-cart! The cart is from Ikea and light weight and cheap! I liked that I could easily bring it back into the garage when we were done playing. This was a super easy project that anyone can make! Everything is zip-tied on, so that it can easily go back to being a regular cart afterwards! A collection of scoops, buckets and vessels fits nicely onto the shelves!

 

Unfortunately, Yules doesn't think it's the coolest thing ever like I do! BOO! She is quite content with just a squeezie bottle! But this water cart was intended to grow with her... all the older kids quite like it, so in due time!

Another Play Update!

So obviously I'm so awesome at blogging and keeping you guys updated on our super awesome day to day shananigans! Insert sarcasm! Well here you go, here's what we've been up to around here!

1. Duplo
The monster is super into Duplo, which I love... even though it is plastic and colourful (2 of my worst toy nightmares... thank goodness it doesn't make noise)! Lego is great for fine motor and the kiddos get so creative with it. Yules likes to fit as many pieces on the base as she can... this masterpiece is an "animal castle".

 

2. Horiculture

I've started to dibble dabble with gardening lately. My dad has a super green thumb, but it's not something I'm really into... until now! We've been experimenting with growing all sorts of things indoors and outside as well. We've started our own grow-op!!!! Haha! It's a fun process for Yules to help with and also great to observe the changes as our plants grow. More on this later in the summer! Here's Yules growing her own insta-flowers!

 

3. Goldfish

My dad has a giant arowana fish that eats feeder goldfish. Every Thursday my brother buys a giant bag of goldfish and Yules helps put them into the tank. She loves looking at the fishies... what kid doesn't? So I had this wicked awesome idea to buy cheap feeder goldfish for Yules to observe in her sensory table. I planned to keep them for a few days and then bring them to my dad's place to feed his arowana. Sounded like a solid plan to me... haha NOT! Apparently goldfish need lots of oxygen and can't just survive in a bowl like we always see them pictured. Yules and I bought 5 goldfish and by the end of day 1, we only had 1 left!! YIKES!! But the one little guy left was a fighter and lasted a few days until we brought him over to my dad's place. Husband said that I am a cruel goldfish killer! Hmmm... what's worst? Dying a slow painful death gasping for air or swimming as fast as you can fearing for your life as a giant fish tries to eat you? Either way, I really am a cruel goldfish killer. Even though Yules really enjoyed observing her fish and is too young to be traumatized by it all like I was.... we will not be doing this activity again. There will be a day when "He went away" will not suffice as an answer to "Where did the fish go"?



 

And this is the little guy in the corner before he became dinner!



 



4. Dinosaurs and blocks

It's so interesting to see the difference in how girls and boys play. Yules methodically laid out the blocks to make little rooms for each dino. Haha definitely different then what the boys were doing with the dinosaurs!

 

5. Goo

Who knew cornstarch and water could be so much fun? It's super neat to leave it for a while and let it harden and then come back and play with it for a while and it becomes a total liquid.

 

6. Keys and Locks

We've been playing with keys and locks because it's great for fine motor and wrist rotation and cause it's just fun. One time we were playing with them and the monster turns to me and said "here's some soap, wash your hands". I was like "huh, what the"... and then I saw the connection that she had made. Do you see it? I love it so much when she makes those connections and uses her imagination like that!

The lock looks like a faucet in case you still have no idea what she's talking about.

 

7. Pondscape

Errr... I think this was supposed to be a pond in our sensory table. Yules did a great job creating this but I'm pretty sure ponds don't have seashells and sharks! Haha!

 

8. Numbers and Letters

When it comes to teaching Yules the alphabet or numbers, I have never actually "taught" her... in the traditional sense that is. I always try to set it up in a simple way where she doesn't even realize I'm teaching her and only when she's interested. Otherwise it's just rote learning and she isn't associating any meaning to it.

I was super impressed when we were playing with an alphabet puzzle and she held the letter L and then went off and grabbed the number 7. She told me they were the same. I asked her if there were any other numbers and letters that were the same... this is what she came up with! Ahhh it seriously makes my heart sing when she makes these connections!

 

9. Barbie Spa

Yules had a great time giving her Barbie the spa treatment. I gave her some little mini hotel toiletries and she went to town. Barbie got a full body scrub, hair washed and conditioned and even lotioned too I think!

 

10. More numbers

Sometimes when we are reading a counting book, I'll also whip out some magnetic numbers on a baking sheet. Yules likes to find the numbers as we read. You can also do the same with an alphabet book. Super easy and fun!

Haha I just noticed that the book looks super scary. It's a Starwars counting book in case you don't recognize all those scary creatures! I don't even like Star Wars *gasp*... I just bought her that book to give her some street cred!

 

11. Card making

Yules and I rarely ever do crafts! Besides learning to follow directions and creating something cutesie, there is no real point in my opinion. I would much rather allow Yules to create art on her own and focus on the process rather than the product. But once in a while I don't mind at all, plus the Grandmas love this stuff! So we made some handprint cards for Mother's Day!

 

12. Building "castles"

This is a fun activity that Yules really likes. All you need is Styrofoam, golf pegs and a toy hammer. She can hammer away and build whatever she wants... this happens to be a castle!

 

 

13. Baking

I don't bake too often, but when I do, I try to include the monster. It takes way longer with her "help", but she really enjoys it!

 

Making biscuits... which is great to do with kids because they normally are supposed to look imperfect. Haha!

Making cookies for Kalbs!

 

14. And of course spending time with her favourite person... KALBS! What have you guys been up to?