Hello Kitty for Preteens???

My niece's birthday is only two weeks away and she decided to have a skating party with a Hello Kitty Theme.  It was challenging to come up with favors that older girls would enjoy, but I hope I passed the test.

Nerdy Hello Kitty Favors =  fashionable glasses + apple red candy 

It seems like an A+ to me, but hopefully my niece and her friends will agree!

Yo Gabba Gabba Music Instruments

What does a mom do when she has a little time on her hands during nap time?  She has fun with duct tape, craft paper and snack containers.  I decided to collect several containers over time and came up with the idea to make simple music instruments for my daughter.  While creating I decided that a Yo Gabba Gabba theme would be perfect!  I am hoping to make some of these for a large event at some point, but the fun was coming up with the initial idea

Instruments include:
Brobee Bongo- cheese doodle or powdered formula container with dried black beans inside
Muno Maracas- yogurt puff container with rice inside
DJ Lance Rocker- milk (in my case Chick-fil-a Tea) jug with children's craft sand inside
Gabba Guitar- shoe box and wrapping paper roll
Toodee  Tambourine- craft top (from Michaels) and bells
Foofa Flute and Plex Piccolo- I cheated and purchased toy flutes from the dollar store ;-)

Fun In The Sun

Summertime...perfect for outdoor fun and delicious on-the-go snacks.  Here are some little treats I decided to make for my daughter's classmates.  What kid doesn't like bubbles and Goldfish?

Summer Treats

I am so excited about these little treats I created.  I have been working on them for a while and they are finally done.  Yay!  It means a lot to have friends who are physically there to support you during the challenging times and celebrate with you during the good.  I wanted to let some of them (and their little ones) know how much I truly appreciate each of them.

Nascar Box Car Derby

My daughter's daycare is hosting a "Nascar Box Car Derby" and it gave me yet another excuse to get the creative wheels turning.  Although, my daughter refuses to cooperate and drive her car, I am happy with the end result.  Maybe daddy can convince her to actually participate in the derby.  For now she is just content with sitting in the car and sucking her thumb.

I Love Science

This weekend I organized a family event at the Museum of Life and Science.  We had lunch together and enjoyed the museum as a large group.  As favors for the kids, I made snack robots (using cups of oranges, cheese crackers, cookies, apple juice boxes, and boxes of raisins). My daughter loved the robots and would imitate a robot every time she saw one of my little creations.  I am glad that she really enjoyed the museum as well!

I Appreciate You!

Every year around this time mothers begin to stress out regarding what to get their child's teachers for Teacher's Appreciation Week.  The gift card route is always nice, but in the case where your child has multiple teachers that can add up pretty quickly.  However, you also don't want to waste your money on trinkets they will never use.  This year I decided to go with a simple idea I found on Pinterest (I Love that site).  There were tons of variations, but I wanted to go with a small beach bag filled with summer themed items.

Below is a breakdown of pricing for each gift:

Straw Beach Tote (Target Value Bin Section)- $3
Beach Towel (Walmart)- $6
Water Bottle (Dollar Tree)- $1
Photo Key Chain (Michaels)- $0.60 each (with 40% coupon for a pack of 3)
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Total of $10.60 for this useful and personal gift!

Gifts Ready to Go! 

Close up of Water Bottle & Towel

 Water Bottle, Towel, and Key Chain

Close up of Gift