Monday, May 4, 2015

Meal Plan Monday 5/4/15

The weekend was a good one!  While Rowen and Ryan spent the morning at gymnastics class, I spent my morning perusing local garage sales with my sister and cousin!  I love a good deal and found some cute stuff for the baby and for Rowen.  

That afternoon we headed to the lake to spend some time with Ryan’s family.  It poured rain all afternoon so we weren't able to go boating like we hoped, but we still had fun!

Sunday was a gorgeous day for a play-date with Rowen and a couple of her friends from daycare!  The kids spent the afternoon outside in their swimsuits, playing with the water table and picnicking on hot dogs and fruit! 




We couldn't get enough of the warm weather (I even have the sunburn to prove it), so that evening we had an impromptu grill out with our neighbors and let the kids run around the yard and eat ice cream!  So much fun! 




Unfortunately, all that sunshine has come to an end.  The future forecast is calling for gloom and doom (aka rain) for the next few days, but luckily we've planned some yummy stuff to get us through the week!

Monday:  Healthy Chicken Nuggets (just hoping Rowen eats this) 


Tuesday (Cinco De Mayo): Slow cooker Shredded Beef Tacos







Friday:  Not cooking

Have a good night!

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Friday, May 1, 2015

Friday Favorites - Toddler Art Supplies

Art activities are one of Rowen and I's favorite things to do together.  I loved art as a kid (and I still do) so I try to do as much art with her as I can!  Aside from your regular crayons, coloring books, stickers, etc, I thought I'd share with you my favorite art supplies for toddlers!  These are items we use that are fairly inexpensive, good quality, low mess and would be great gifts for any toddler! Check it out...


1/ Melissa and Doug No Spill Paint Cups and Paint Brushes - Melissa and Doug is one of my favorite brands for kids.  Everything is so well made and these no spill paint cups and brushes are terrific!  I swear, no matter how many times they tip over, they don't spill!  The paint brushes fit perfectly inside the cup and color coordinate so that she isn't mixing paint colors all the time.


2/ IKEA PRICKAR Bib - Technically, I think this is supposed to be used as a feeding bib, but we use it as an art smock.  I love that it's made of waterproof material and has long sleeves to protect her clothes from getting messy during art activities.  


3/ Dollar Tree Dough - AKA imitation Playdoh.  Don't get me wrong, I love Playdoh, I think it's fun, but the quality of it (it doesn't keep very long) and the smell really got to me after awhile.  Then I found Dough at my local Dollar Tree!  In my opinion, Dough keeps longer, doesn't smell (as bad) and is half the price!  I highly recommend it!


4/ Craft Pom Poms - We use pom poms in a lot of our art activities.  Rowen loves to glue them to paper, sort them into cups, and use them in sensory play.  Definitely a staple item in our art bin!


5/ Pipe Cleaners - Another staple item!  It's amazing how many craft activities you can find online that use pipe cleaners!  Rowen's favorite way to use them is to string them with beads!


6/ Melissa and Doug Bead Bundle - Speaking of beads, the beads by Melissa and Doug are wonderful!  Rowen is actually getting this particular set as a "big sister" gift when the baby is born.  I love that the beads are big enough for her little hands to use (hello fine motor skills), and help serve as a quiet activity when I need a little bit of a break! 


7/ Melissa and Doug Animal Stamp Set -  We were gifted this set of stamps at Christmas and Rowen is quite fond of it!  She loves to use the ink pad and give herself stamps as well as stamp on every coloring book she owns!

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