St. Patrick's Day Craft!

Today is the last day of February, so now we're on to St. Patrick's Day!  Here's a fun and easy dessert craft that your kids will love--St. Patrick's Pot o' Gold!  Here's the link for the full recipe and instructions: http://familyfun.go.com/st-patricks-day/st-patricks-day-recipes/st-patricks-day-desserts/st-patricks-pot-of-gold-685044/

Have a fun-filled Monday and thank you all for your comments on our previous post!  We are so excited to know that we have readers :-)

Fun Stuff

Help Me Grow has created a Quibblo account where we can create quizzes or surveys, and we thought that it would be fun once a month or so to have you guys contribute your thoughts and ideas.  The question that's up and running right now is "What was your favorite book or story as a child?"  You can answer by posting a comment to this post, or go check out Quibblo.com yourself and answer the question there.  Here's the link: http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/enp2PKu/What-was-your-favorite-book-or-story-as-a-child.  Thanks again to everyone for your support of Help Me Grow!

http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/belle-and-book.jpg

This may be obvious, but my favorite story was "Beauty and the Beast."  I had to call my mom to ask, but now I remember.  She said I used to dress up and walk around with a basket on my arm while reading a book.  I thought that this image captured what I was going for :-)

What Did You Do?

Ok my more experienced than me mothers.  My 2 year old has gone on strike against organized meals and fruits and veggies entirely.  I've tried limiting snacks so that she's hungry when meals roll around, but even then she prefers to go hungry.  She's a huge fan of crackers and juice, but I would really rather her eat "meals," obviously :-).  However, I'm the most worried about the fruits and vegetables deal, and the only solution I've come up with is to throw it all in the blender and make our own "juice."  It's worked so far, but it's only been a week, and I'm afraid it will get old for her any day now.  What have you more "seasoned" mothers done in this predicament?

Trade-In Used Baby Items!

We just found this, yesterday, and as a mother, I know I'm definitely going to do this.  Please read on :-)  Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us are having a trade-in event, where you can bring in specific used baby items and receive 25% off any new "car seat, stroller, travel system, high chair, bassinet, play yard, crib or toddler bed from participating brands when you bring in a used one."  Here are the "Great Trade-In" Event - Frequently Asked Questions:

• "What is the Great Trade-In event?

• The Great Trade-In event is a national program offered by Babies"R"Us and Toys"R"Us that provides our guests the opportunity to trade-in any used cribs, car seats, bassinets, strollers, travel systems, play yards, high chairs and toddler beds, in exchange for savings on any new item from one of these product categories from participating manufacturers.  The program serves to call attention to used baby items still in circulation that may have been recalled and other concerns raised by older or used products.  This could include products that have been damaged or others where advances in product safety have rendered older models non-compliant with the latest standards.

• Does the item I bring back have to be a product I purchase from one of your stores? Do I need a receipt to trade-in an item?

• You can trade-in any crib, car seat, bassinet, stroller, travel system, play yard, high chair or toddler bed at any of our Toy"R"Us or Babies"R"Us stores nationwide, regardless of whether you purchased the item from one of our stores.  You do not need a receipt to trade-in a used item.

• Can I bring back multiple items and receive additional savings?
• Yes, you can bring back multiple items to our stores during the program and you will receive on 25% discount for each item traded in.  However, guests may only use one savings coupon per each new item purchased.  The new item must be in the participating product categories and from the participating manufacturers."

Ladies--do it, do it, do it :-)

I know, I know....

I know, I know...I've been inundating you with resources and information, but I don't want to miss out on providing something that someone may need.  This flier is for a smoking cessation class sponsored by Kids on the Move, which is just a GREAT agency.

If you happen to be interested in Kids on the Move but not this class so much, here's a link to their website: kidsonthemove.org

Just For My Enjoyment...

As I was reviewing new resources to post to our database, I found this.  This little boy just makes my day, and I thought I'd share it with all of you :-)

This advertisement was for The Learning Connection, which is up in Ogden.  Here's part of their flyer:

"Reading and Writing Taught in 20 Hours

• Tutoring Ages 3-Adult
• Private Lessons
• Struggling Readers
• Math Skills
• Help for Homeschoolers
• Comprehension Strategies
• spelling and Writing Skills
• Free Initial Testing ($150 Value)

WE PRODUCE RESULTS!
CALL (801) 675-5041
www.learningconnectionutah.com "

 So, my main purpose for posting this was just because the little boy is so stinkin' cute, but if any of you close to Ogden are looking for something like this, maybe give them a call and look into it.  Thanks for following our blog!  We really appreciate it!

Fun Family Event!

Sorry, I lied.  This is our last post before Valentine's Day.  I just found this and thought it would be a great, fun evening activity for families.  I'm sorry that I found this just AFTER their February meeting, but plan to attend the March and April nights!

P.S. This is sponsored by the Springville Family Center, and their blog address is www.springvillefamilycenter.blogspot.com 

Paper Plate Heart Pocket

Since this is our last blog post before Valentine's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to put up one more fun craft.  This one happens to be great for collecting Valentine's cards for the kids at school!

Here's the link for instructions on how to make this fun craft: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/valentineholder/ss/ppheart.htm  Happy Valentine's Day, and thanks for following our blog!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

 I've been making this homemade laundry detergent for about 8 months now, and using my mom's detergent (while we were living with her) before that. I decided to continue this tradition after we found out my daughter has eczema. This recipe is super easy, eczema-friendly, and your wallet will love it.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap. (I have never found this, so I use a full bar of Lever 2000, or whatever is on sale. I was recently informed that this can be found at Macey's.)
• 1/2 cup washing soda. (Haven't found this at Wal-Mart either. Substitute 1/2 cup baking soda. Also heard that this can be found at Macey's as well.)
• 1/2 cup borax powder. (This you CAN find at Wal-Mart with their other laundry supplies.)
• 2-gallon bucket. I use a 3 gallon BYU Creamery ice cream bucket.

Instructions:

• Grate the soap and put it in a stock pot or large sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat it until the soap melts. (The original instructions tell you to add the washing/baking soda and the borax powder here. From experience, I'm telling you not to. The mixture will boil and rise over the top of your pot, leaving more mess for you to clean up.)
• Pour 4 cups hot water into your bucket.
• Remove soap/water mixture from heat, and add to your bucket.
• Add washing/baking soda and borax powder, and mix until dissolved.
• Once dissolved, fill your bucket to the 2-gallon mark (or your best estimation) with hot water and stir.
• After your solution is mixed, let it sit for about 24 hours (it takes mine 36-48) and it will gel. Use 1/2 cup detergent per load.

(This recipe was originally taken from http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com)

Just for fun, I'm going to add up your expenses, and you can compare this to buying 60-load or whatever Tide or Gain however often you need to from the store :-)

8-pack Irish Spring bar soap:~$4.50
borax powder:~$4.50
baking soda (16 oz):~$2.00

I didn't have to purchase my bucket, my mom gave it to me for free, but any food storage bucket will do that you can get from Macey's or somewhere cheap. Some places, like the creamery, may give them to you free. Now, I do on average a load of laundry a day, with my child who spills and makes messes on everything. I bought each of these things when we moved into our apartment at the beginning of last June, and I haven't had to go buy more of anything. Today I made my 3rd batch, and I'll need to get more baking soda for the next time. So, $13.00 a year on laundry detergent? I'm ok with that.

Make your own Valentine finger puppet

Young hearts (and fingers!) will dance at the sight of these lively paper puppets -- which are a snap to make. http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/valentine-finger-puppet-670003/