December is the month for holiday traditions! Coolest Family on the Block has your family Christmas tradition needs covered from Christmas Pajamas, to Ugly Christmas Sweaters, to proof of Santa’s existence, and so much more!

Christmas Book Countdown Advent

Christmas Morning Tradition: Gift Wrap Doorway

10 Ideas For Your Christmas Pajamas Tradition

Ugly Christmas Sweater Tradition

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest Rules

Ugly Christmas Sweaters 2010

Ugly Christmas Sweaters 2011

Santa Proof: Photos of Santa in your home!

Santa Proof: Santa’s Magical Sooty Bootprints

Santa Proof: Phone Calls from Santa

Santa Proof: Watch Santa feed his reindeer!

Make Writing a Letter to Santa a Tradition

How to Mail a Letter to Santa at the North Pole

Free Printable Santa Paper

How to Email a Letter to Santa

What are some of your family’s December traditions?
Let me know in the comments!

Visit my other blog…it’s pointless, sarcastic, and mildly amusing.
JennRian.com: I’m, like, funny…

This year the Cool Family opted for some extremely cheap, simple, and easy no-sew Halloween costumes.

Thankfully Adaline insisted on being a Black Cat this year. I was going to go the leotard route but figured it was pointless to spend the extra money, especially if she would end up being too cold. She wore a black long sleeved shirt and black pants that she already had. We got a cat kit for $5 at Target which included the ears, tail, and bowtie (it also came with a weird nose, but it looked awkward). A little eyeliner nose and whiskers and we’re done!

Jon wanted to be a scarecrow. The costume was simple: overalls and flannel shirt. Jeans would work as well especially if the shirt is a little longer and you could cinch the waist with some rope. For the straw “cuffs” I just tied some yard into a circle and then tied yarn around it and put it on his wrists and shoes. For the hat/hair I stuck pieces of yarn to duct tap and then safety pinned the strip of duct tape to the hat. Simple! I was going to put a scarecrow nose and stitched mouth on him, but he wouldn’t let me

When I was 2 years old I was also a scarecrow for Halloween. That’s me on the left. Do you think Jon and I look alike at all?

I decided to go as a nerd because I only needed a few accessories to complete the costume: nerd glasses, suspenders, and a bowtie. I will tell you that I’m not happy with my accessories at all. We went to Party City because it was closer and these were the only options. I think the glasses are too “trendy”, the bowtie is too “cocktail waitress”, and it was all pricier than I would’ve liked. After I’d already bought the stuff I found cheaper and more appropriate accessories at a Halloween store at the mall. So I’m disappointed.

Nerd glasses, suspenders, bowtie: Party City 2014
Nerd knee socks: Target 2014 (I already had these, because they’re awesome)
Hair Pom Poms: Gymboree 2010 (They’re Adaline’s, I thought they worked perfectly)

Because I wasn’t entirely thrilled with my nerd costume (I hated the bowtie in particular), I decided to change it up and go specifically as a Harry Potter Nerd or a Potterhead, if you will. I already had the awesome Gryffindor t-shirt and scarf, and the round Harry Potter glasses. Yes, I already had those, just for every day use. Because, shut up.

Harry Potter Glasses: Amazon
Gryffindor T-shirt: Wal-Mart 2014
Gryffindor Scarf: Universal Islands of Adventure 2011
Nerd glasses, suspenders: Party City 2014
Nerd knee socks: Target 2014
Hair Pom Poms: Gymboree 2010

It ended up being chilly so I wore a gold cardigan that I already had that matched perfectly and in the end I decided to wear the nerd glasses instead of the Harry Pottery glasses. Fascinating stuff, right?

Gryffindor T-shirt: Wal-Mart 2014
Gryffindor Scarf: Universal Islands of Adventure 2011
Gold Cardigan: Target 2013
Nerd glasses, suspenders: Party City 2014
Nerd knee socks: Target 2014 (I already had these, because they’re awesome)
Hair Pom Poms: Gymboree 2010 (They’re Adaline’s, I thought they worked perfectly)

Last year Adaline and Jon went as an Artist and Masterpiece.
Click for costume details.

What did your kids dress as for Halloween this year?
What’s your favorite go-to last minute costume?
Let me know in the comments!

Visit my other blog: JennRian.com. It’s pointless, sarcastic, and mildly amusing.

We were in charge of bringing classroom snacks for the Kindergarten Halloween party. Homemade treats were not allowed (which is just as well since I don’t cook or bake). I really get tired of all of the junk my kids accumulate from October to January during the holidays, so I really didn’t want to give the kids loads of sugar. Instead I prepared healthy snacks (fruit and cheese) with a fun “Halloween” twist…and they got organic lollipops as well. Yep, I’m one of those super fun parents :P.
(Don’t worry, they also got store bought cookies filled with sugar and artificial junk and bags of artificially colored Cheetos That was my husband’s doing. He’s everyone’s favorite.)

These healthy Halloween snacks were ridiculously easy to make. Seriously, I can’t express to you enough how quick and simple this was! I made 16 of each and it only took about half an hour to complete. I know, right?! All you need is a black Sharpie Marker!

These String Cheese Ghosts were the easiest to do. I just drew little ghostly faces on the back of a cheesestick and was finished in only minutes! Effortless!

Using a Sharpie marker I drew Jack-O-Lantern faces onto oranges. Okay, okay…so they were Halos or Cuties which are technically Mandarin Clementines. But I’m still going to call them “oranges” anyway because this is my blog and I’m a rebel that laughs in the face of accurately classifying fruits by their proper species and binomial name. Suck it, science!

I’ve seen these Banana Pirates around cyber space for years now. They’re not particularly “Halloween-y” but I still thought they were cute and fun. Halloween is a time you can dress up and be whatever you want…so can your banana! Maybe if I wasn’t so lazy I could’ve come up with a different more appropriately themed “character”, but this will have to do.

What are your kids’ favorite healthy Halloween themed treats?
What other creative character can you turn a banana into?
Do you call Clementines “oranges” too?
Let me know in the comments!

Need last minute Halloween Costumes for siblings?
Check out these adorable and easy Artist and Masterpiece costumes!

Visit my other blog: JennRian.com. It’s pointless, sarcastic, and mildly amusing.

Can you believe Adaline is in Kindergarten now? Today she had Crazy Hair Day at school and I thought I’d share her silly, wacky, crazy hairdo with you!

I can’t take credit for the awesome hair…my mom did it.
I’m hair-challenged and can barely put hair in a ponytail.

SILLY WACKY CRAZY SEUSS HAIR
*Put hair in multiple ponytails.
*Twist the ponytails into knots and secure like tiny buns.
*Use colorful scrunchies and barrettes.
*Accent with curly-Q pipecleaners.

I think her hair has a very Dr. Seuss-esque quality to it. It would be perfect for a Dr. Seuss celebration, Read Across America, or Wacky Wednesday!

Party in the back…

Visit my other blog: JennRian.com. It’s pointless, sarcastic, and mildly amusing.

I have noticed that mud must have some sort of magnetic properties because my son can’t seem to stay away from it. My poor garden has suffered multiple assaults from my son and his shovel. To try and deter him from the garden I wanted to make him some mud that he could play with indoors or outdoors and as often as he would like. This is how Edible Mud Play Dough came to be. It had to be edible because I think you never can be too safe when toddlers are around (my son just turned 1.5) so I work really hard at coming up with safe activities for him.
(See more Toddler Friendly Activities Here)

Our homemade mud can be made with things found in your pantry. It’s fast and simple to make and looks exactly like mud. After coming up with this awesome recipe, when my husband came home from work and took a look at the “muddy” tray on the table he wondered why I had brought mud into the house. Oh the look he gave me when I took a bite was priceless, lol! By now he should know we are always up to something fun and interesting.

The awesome part about Edible Mud Play Dough is it is dry and crumbly and at the same time doughy and shapeable. Although it is edible, it doesn’t taste good at all so this activity shouldn’t turn into snack time. Get those trucks, shovels, and mud pie pans out because your kiddo is going to love playing with it. What a fun new Sensory Play experience!
(see more Sensory Play Activities Here)

Supplies:
1 Large box of chocolate pudding mix (we used the instant kind)
1 C. baking soda
1/4 C water
3 Tbs. oil

I suggest making one batch per kid.

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together.
Add wet ingredients and mix evenly and it’s ready to be played with.

Makes a perfect mud ball because it can hold its shape, but will still crumble apart.

Here are my busy little kiddos smashing, filling, and building away.

My daughter used the words, “crumbly, brown, and soft.” What sensory words will your kiddo use to describe it?
Sometimes toddlers are hard to keep entertained…well my little man played with his dough for an impressively long time and even outlasted my daughter. He must love his new mud!

We hope you enjoy our Edible Mud Play Dough Recipe. Thanks for playing with us. Drop by A Little Pinch of Perfect to say hi and make sure you catch our next fun idea!

Love-Katie and the Kiddos

Katie is a Stay-At-Home-Mom who is kept busy by her spunky 3 year old daughter and curious 1 year old son. She is always coming up with new, fun, and creative ideas to keep her kiddos excited throughout the day. She believes that creativity helps little minds learn & grow in amazing ways that conventional methods only dream about. Visit A Little Pinch of Perfect to discover more or follow her on social media on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Bloglovin’

Thank you, Katie!

Do your kids love playing in the mud?
Have you ever made mud play dough?
Please leave a comment for Katie below!

This post is linked to: SITS Sharefest (July 12, 2014)

Here are some great family traditions for celebrating patriotic holidays: Memorial Day (May), Flag Day (June 14), Independence Day (July 4th), and Veterans Day (November).

Attend a local parade or other event
Many towns hold parades, fireworks, or memorial services on certain patriotic holidays.

If you live in Beaver County, PA or the Greater Pittsburgh Area you can find local events posted here or on my local Facebook page: Beaver County Family Fun.

Display and/or carry a flag and wear poppies

Wear red, white and blue

(Video here)

Make a patriotic themed craft

Teach the kids to salute servicemen/women and veterans

Teach the kids the Pledge of Allegiance
Here’s a video of Adaline reciting the Pledge of Allegiance when she was 3 years old.
(Video here)

Need more inspiration? See how other bloggers celebrate patriotic holidays…

*Flag Tag Relay Race: @ Spoonful.com

*Flag Day activity for kids: Flag Hunt!: @ No Time for Flashcards

*4th of July Neighborhood Bike Parade: @ Busy Kids Happy Mom

*Making Memorial Day Special and Fun For Your Kids: @ Disney Family
Patriotic Balloon Volleyball, Patriotic Color Race, Plan a Patriotic Party for Memorial Day

*10 Kids 4th of July Celebration Ideas: @ B-Inspired Mama
Have a Kids 4th of July Party, Decorate the House, Play with a Sensory Bin, Make a Kids 4th of July Treat, Dress Up, Have a Picnic, Do a Craft, Learn about Independence Day, Have a Kids 4th of July Parade, Decorate Your Bike

*Our Family Flag: @ Beauty and Bedlam
”What better way than the 4th of July to create your own Family Flag? Use construction paper, felt, or fabric. Select…symbols that represent each member of your
family.”

*Activities to Teach your Child about Memorial Day: @ Premeditated Leftovers
Have a History Lesson, Observe the Moment of Silence at 3 PM and Important Tradition, Learn About Your Military Relatives, Gather for a Family Cookout, Learn a Patriotic Song Together, and More Patriotic Activities for Kids

*10 Ways to Celebrate Memorial Day with Your Child!:
@ Super Coupon Lady
Go to your local cemetery, Fly your flag high, Find out about Memorial Day events in your city, Bring donations to your local veteran’s hospital, Enjoy children’s Memorial Day books together, Make a patriotic themed craft, Wear patriotic colors, Take a moment of silence, Attend a Memorial Day parade, Teach your kids to place their right hands over their hearts when they see the flag go by

*Memorial Day for Kids {A Few Ideas}: @ Fun-A-Day
A Simple American Flag Craft, Drawing Pictures for Marines (or other servicemen/women), Visiting a family member’s grave

*Memorial Day Activities for Kids: @ My Kid’s Guide
Make bouquets and wreaths, Make flags, Visit the local veterans hospital, Memorial Day Activities for Kids: Visit Veterans, Read stories on Memorial Day, Everyone wears red, white and blue

*10 ways to say thank you on Memorial Day: @ The House of Hendrix
Use your phone, Tweet use the #wearegrateful hashtag, write a letter, Fly a flag, Attend a parade, Make patriotic cookies, Pray for the families, give a discount to veterans, offer to do yard work, Do something

*10 Memorial Day Traditions That Are More Meaningful Than a BBQ:
@ The Stir Cafe Mom
Visit a veterans’ home, Visit the local veterans cemetery, Attend a parade., Attend a memorial service, Raise your flag, Honor the National Moment of Remembrance, Hoist a POW/MIA flag, Visit a battlefield, Watch/Listen to the National Memorial Day Concert, Share a photo of your beloved fallen soldier/airman/etc. on Facebook or Instagram.

*Discover and Share Memorial Day Traditions and Activities: @ PBS.org
Displaying the Flag, Visiting Gravesites, Participating in the National Moment of Remembrance, Visiting Local Veterans Homes and Hospitals, Attending Memorial Day Parades, Experiencing the Nation’s Memorials, Brushing Up on Family and American History, Wearing Memorial Day Poppies

*5 Family Activities for Memorial Day Weekend: @ Parent Society
Get out and grill, Watch a parade, Watch the fireworks, Snag some savings, Root, root, root for the home team

*Celebrating Memorial Day with Children: @ No Twiddle Twaddle
Honor a soldier’s grave, Read books that honor soldiers

*Sharing Memorial Day with Kids: @ The Educator’s Spin on it

*Memorial Day Books for Kids: @ 3 Boys and a Dog

How does your family celebrate patriotic holidays? Let me know in the comments!

May 1st is “May Day”! On May Day there is a tradition of leaving baskets of flowers or goodies hanging on your neighbors’ doors anonymously. Other ways to celebrate May Day include the Maypole, building fairy houses, making/wearing a floral hat or wreath, and even a Magic Jellybean Lollipop Garden (a tradition that my family does for Easter). Below you will find a round up of May Day ideas from around the web including traditions, maypole tutorials, May Day treats, and free May Day printables.

You can find inspiration and tutorials for May Baskets on my May Day pinboard. A May Day Basket post will be coming someday. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year. Who knows?! (I sure don’t.)

MAY DAY TRADITIONS
*6 Ways to Celebrate May Day: @ WikiHow
Adding a Maypole to Your Backyard, Warming Up By a Bonfire, Trying Other Dancing, Enjoying May Day Food and Drink, Celebrating May Day with Flowers, Trying a Little May Magic

*The Most Fun May Day Traditions: Magic Morning Dew, Fairy Houses and Foliage Accessories: @ BunchFamily.ca

*Jack in the green: @ Wikipedia.org

*Creating Summer Hats: @ Creative Connections for Kids

*May Day Flower Headband Tutorial: @ Simple Simon and Co.

*May Day – Magic Jelly Beans: @ Nothing But Country

*Super Mommy Secret~May Day Tradition: @ Secrets of a Super Mommy

*An Old-Fashioned May Day Celebration: @ Mrs. Gore’s Diary

*Montessori Inspired May Day Activities: @ Living Montessori Now
A great collection of links to May Day Activities

*LOCAL SPRING FESTIVALS!
Check your local community to see if they are hosting a spring or May Day festival!
Adelina from @ Home Maid Simple shared her family’s trip to the Provo Spring Festival complete with Maypole dancing!

*Carrying on the May Day Tradition: @ Omahaha

MAYPOLES
*Paper Towel Roll Maypole Craft: @ DLTK-Kids

*Children’s Maypole Tutorial: @ Mommy Blessings

*Making a Maypole: @ MarthaStewart.com

*Maypole Dancing and DIY Maypole: @ How to Run a Home Daycare

*May Day and DIY Maypole: @ Montessori Mischief
They used a tall floor lamp as a maypole!

MAY DAY TREATS AND SNACKS
*DIY Mini Maypole Cakes: @ Studio DIY
Cute Maypole bundt cake made with a stripey straw and ribbons.

*May Day Cupcakes: @ Cupcake Project

*Maypole cupcakes: @ Martha Stewart

*Maypole Cake: @ Fiskars

MAY DAY PRINTABLES
*Start a May Day Tradition with these Free May Day Printables: @ Happy Money Saver

*May Day Surprise: @ Creative Preschool Resources
Free printable tag

*Free Printable May Day Gift Tags: @ Skip to My Lou

*DIY Printable May Day Basket: @ Alpha Mom

*Printable May Day Basket Template: @ Printables4Kids.com

*Free Printable May Day Basket (cone): @ The Neighborhood

*May Baskets Poem and Poster / Coloring Sheet: @ DLTK

Do you celebrate May Day? What’s your May Day tradition? Let me know in the comments!

Learn how to make DIY Easter Bunny paw prints with a free printable template and video tutorial!

To create your own Easter Bunny paw print trail you’ll need to print out a template online or create your own template. Pick a white powder (baking soda, flour, baby powder) to sprinkle inside the bunny paw print stencil.
Watch the quick video tutorial below to learn how to make DIY Easter Bunny tracks using my free printable Easter Bunny paw print template!

(Watch video here)

For the past few years I’ve used other free printable templates to create a more whimsical looking Easter bunny footprint. This year I decided to create my own template and I wanted to try to make it look like a more realistic rabbit paw print. I’ve never seen rabbit tracks in real life (I’m not very outdoorsy) but after looking over some photos online, I think I came up with a decent version.

I also created a version that includes front paws. In my opinion, the Easter bunny only hops on his back paws because he’s carrying the Easter baskets, but the front paws are included if you want them. There are three files below. You can print out the version with just the back paws, the version with front and back paws, or the last file which contains both of the other templates in one file. Click on the photos or links to download, or right click and “save link as” to save the pdf to your computer.

Easter Bunny Paw Print Templates are for personal non-commercial use only.
Attention pinners and bloggers:
When sharing please link to the original post, do not link directly to the pdf file url. Thank you.

Free Printable Easter Bunny Paw Print Template: Both versions in one document

Free Printable Easter Bunny Paw Print Template: Back Paws Only

Free Printable Easter Bunny Paw Print Template: Front and Back Paws

Print the template out on card stock as regular paper tends to be too flimsy to use as a stencil. Although I didn’t show this trick in the video, you can use a damp cloth to wet around the edges of the stencil to catch the powder that might otherwise creep outside of the template. Or you could use the damp cloth to dip in the powder first and then dab around the inside of the stencil rather than sprinkling. I’ve never needed to use either of these methods and always just sprinkled the powder the way I demonstrated in the video.

*EASTER TRADITION: MAGIC JELLYBEAN PRAYER and LOLLIPOP GARDEN

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2011

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2012

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2013

*50+ EASTER EGG DECORATING IDEAS

*NATURAL DYES FOR COLORING EASTER EGGS

*APRIL HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

This post is linked to…
SITS Sharefest / Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop / Mama Kat’s Vlog Prompts

Below you will find links to games that you can play with household items such as a broom, bucket, iron board, laundry basket, forks, spoons, plates, and cups! Way more fun than doing the laundry and washing the dishes!

Minute to Win It Games on GSN

*Broomski Ball: Roll tennis balls over a taped down broomstick and jump them into three buckets at different heights.

You’ll Need: 3 Buckets / 1 Broomstick / Tennis balls / Foul line / Tape
1) The game begins with the broomstick and buckets affixed to the floor, and the foul line placed 9 feet back from the front of the first bucket.
2) When the clock starts, player can begin rolling tennis balls.
3) To complete the game, player must land at least one ball into each basket.

*Bucket Head: Catch 3 balls in a bucket on top of the head.

You’ll Need: “bucket headgear” made of small bucket or water jug with top cut off / materials like a sweatband to keep it affixed to the head / container of ping-pong balls / wall with a foul line on the ground 5′ away
1) When the clock starts, player may grab 1 ball at a time and bounce it so that it hits the floor then wall before attempting to catch it in the bucket headgear.
2) Only balls caught behind the foul line may count toward total.
3) Ball must bounce directly from wall to bucket in order to score.
4) Player can’t play from a kneeling or seated position, or touch the bucket with the hands while trying to catch a ball.
5) To complete the game, player must catch and retain a total of 3 balls in the bucket atop the head within the 60-second time limit.

*Get Forked: Roll quarters from behind a foul line so that one stands between the tines of a fork from a designated distance.

You’ll Need: Fork / Foul line
1) Create a foul line.
2) Secure the fork a designated distance away from the foul line so that it is face down and the tine openings are facing the foul line.
3) When the clock starts, player rolls quarters toward the fork.
4) To complete the game, get one quarter to stand in one of the tines within the 60-second time limit. The quarter must remain in the tine opening for 3 seconds.

*Ka-Broom: Drop a broom onto a plate, catapulting a marshmallow into the air, then catch it in a cup.

You’ll Need: 1 cup / 1 broom / 10 paper plates / 10 large marshmallows / table
1) Set up each plate so that it hangs halfway off the table with a marshmallow centered on the portion of the plate covering the table.
2) Create a foul line 7′ from the plates.
3) When the clock starts, player places broom bristle side down, and releases the handle so it makes contact with the plate.
4) The marshmallow should catapult into the air and the player must attempt to catch it in the cup while at least 1 foot is behind the foul line.
5) If a player’s hand makes contact with a marshmallow, the attempt does not count.
6) To complete the game, player must catch 3 marshmallows so that they are in the cup concurrently within the 60-second time limit.

*Nimble Thimble: Player must bounce a marble into each of 6 thimbles.

You’ll Need: 6 thimbles / at least 6 marbles
1) Affix each thimble to the table with the open side facing up.
2) When the clock starts, player may toss 1 marble at a time towards the thimbles.
3) A marble must bounce at least once on the table, without being redirected by the player before landing in a thimble.
4) To complete the game, a marble must be stationary in each of the 6 thimbles concurrently within the 60-second time limit.

*Spoon Frog: Bang down on a spoon to propel another spoon into a glass.

You’ll Need: at least 6 spoons / 3 glasses
1) Set up 3 glasses in a row.
2) When the clock starts, player may begin arranging spoons and banging down on them to propel them into the glass.
3) Player must make a single motion, making contact with only 1 spoon when catapulting the spoon into the glass.
4) The spoon must land in the bottom of the glass to count.
5) To complete the game, player must land 1 spoon into each of 3 glasses and they must remain there concurrently within the 60-second time limit.

*Spoon Tune: Arrange glasses of water within 60 seconds so that they play a preselected song when tapped with a spoon.

You’ll Need: Glasses / Water / Spoon / Table / Tuning instrument
1) Prior to game start, fill glasses with water and tune them to the notes of the preselected song. Arrange the glasses in random order in the center of the table.
2) When the clock starts, contestant may start arranging the glasses in a line and tapping them with the spoon.
3) Glasses must be positioned in a clear line within 60 seconds to count toward completion of game.
4) If contestant knocks a glass over or spills enough water to change a glass’ note, the game will result in failure.
5) To complete the game, contestant must arrange the glasses in a line in the correct order correlating to the musical notes of the preselected song and have hands off the glasses within the 60-second time limit.
6) “Jingle Bells,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” are just a few examples of recommended songs.

*By a Thread: Use 1 hand to run a piece of thread through the eye of 10 needles.

You’ll Need: thread / 10 needles (each with an increasingly smaller eye)
1) All needles are placed sharp side down into a stable surface, arranged from largest eye to smallest.
2) Before starting the game, the player may hold thread with hand of choice, but may not lick or bend it.
3) When the clock starts, player may lick or bend thread as needed, but may only use 1 hand at all times.
4) To complete the game, player must get the thread through the eyes of all 10 needles within the 60-second time limit.

*Iron Board Man: Two people maneuver opposite ends of an ironing board in an attempt to land a marble in one of three designated holes.

You’ll Need: Ironing board / Marbles
1) Prior to game start, players stand in designated start zones with their hands holding the board with a marble preloaded on the ironing board.
2) Once the clock starts, players may place their hands on the sides of the ironing board behind the designated zone and will begin rolling the marble down the board by tilting the board.
3) If a marble falls off of the board at any time, the player must re-use marble or pick up another marble and place it in the start zone before attempting the game again.
4) Only one marble may be on the board at a time.
5) To complete the game, player must get one marble from the start position to one of the 3 end positions at the middle of the ironing board as described above within the 60-second time limit.

*Magic Carpet Ride: Player must sit on a bathroom floor mat and use an inchworm technique to move around obstacles.

You’ll Need: 1 standard bath mat / 3 obstacles (i.e. toilet brush, plunger, toilet paper roll) / smooth floor with start line
1) Set up 3 obstacles in a line in front of the start line.
2) Player begins game sitting on bathmat with fuzzy side down.
3) When the clock starts, player may begin moving across floor using the designated inchworm motion to move around the obstacles.
4) Player may slalom in any direction around the obstacles, then turn around and slalom back past the same obstacles.
5) If player touches the ground with any part of his or her body, he or she must stop moving forward until their body is correctly positioned back on the mat.
6) To complete the game, player must slalom around the obstacles to the end and back, and the bath mat must cross the start line entirely within the 60-second time limit.

*Whack Job: Use a broom to knock a pie tin off a glass, allowing the egg that is sitting on a toilet paper roll on top of the tin to fall into the glass.

You’ll Need: glass of water / pie tin / toilet paper roll / raw egg / kitchen broom
1) Set up tower so that it has a glass of water with a pie tin on top. On top of the pie tin is an empty toilet paper roll with an egg balanced on top.
2) When the clock starts, player steps on broom bristles and releases handle so that the handle hits the pie tin with the demonstrated motion.
3) The player may not make contact with the egg tower, and the entire egg must land inside the glass to count.
4) To complete the game, player must knock the egg off the tower and completely into the glass within the 60-second time limit.

*Whippersnapper: Player must use a towel affixed to the floor to whip a ping-pong ball into a laundry basket.

You’ll Need: 1 towel / ping-pong balls / 1 laundry basket
1) Set up laundry basket 15′ away from a towel which has 1 end affixed to the ground.
2) When the clock starts, player may put a ball on the towel and “pop” the ball into the laundry basket by holding the 2 closet corners of the towel.
3) Player may place the ping-pong ball anywhere on the towel, but may only place 1 ping-pong ball at a time.
4) To complete the game, the player must toss 1 ping-pong ball into the laundry basket within the 60-second time limit.

Link up your housework related projects with the No Housework Party April 07-12, 2014. Domestic Goddess’ and the Domestically Challenged welcome!
Tweet using the hashtag #nohousework

All that to say…hey, people, have you heard of the Magic Jellybean Prayer and Lollipop Garden? For the past few years I’ve taken a basic Easter Egg Hunt, The Jellybean Prayer, and the Magic Jellybean Lollipop Garden Easter traditions and put them all together.

(Watch video here)

The first year that we tried this we were going to plant the jellybeans out in the yard but it ended up being too cold to have the kids outside for that long. Instead I grabbed a random pot of dirt at my mom’s house (because who doesn’t have a random pot of dirt sitting around) and planted the jellybeans in the pot inside the house first and then we set the pot out on the porch.

If the weather is nice enough we have an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Nothing fancy, I literally just toss eggs filled with pennies out in the yard moments before the kids come out. Mixed in with the other Easter eggs are 5 special jellybean shaped Easter eggs.

When the hunt is over the children give me the jellybean eggs that they found and gather around for the Magic Jellybean Prayer. Inside each jellybean egg is a part of a poem and several jellybeans. I open the eggs in order and read the rhyme and give each child a jellybean to eat and one to plant.

How to grow a lollipop garden from magic jellybeans:
-Read the Jellybean Prayer
-Plant the jellybeans in a pot of sugar or directly in the ground.
-Set the planted jellybeans in Easter Eve moonlight or Easter sunlight and wait for them to grow.
(Magic jellybeans will need all night to grow when using moonlight, but they grow in only a few short minutes when put in Easter sunlight.)
-Your magic jellybeans will become a tasty lollipop garden!

I found the poem I use for The Jellybean Prayer at Happy Home Fairy.
(By the way if you like all of the holiday ideas on my blog you’ll love Julie’s blog. Not only does she blog way more regularly than I do, but she’s super nice and sweet and not cranky and sarcastic like me It’s a breath of fresh air compared to what you normally get around these parts. Shut up. < see?)

The Jellybean Prayer (Free Printable) @ Happy Home Fairy

There is another version of The Jellybean Prayer that is all over the internet but I’m not really fond of it because I think the rhyme is cheesy and hardly has anything to do with Easter (orange is for the edge of night…whaaa?). So, because I’m picky I really prefer the prayer shared on Happy Home Fairy. I think the rhymes and colors make more sense and it’s sweet and simple for kids to understand.

I really try to avoid giving the children artificial colors and flavors when I can so I used Hammond’s Natural Lollipops (available on Amazon). The flavors you see below are Cherry (Pink, White, Red) and Peach Mango (Green, Orange, Red)
(They also have Butterscotch (Cream, Gold Stripe), Pomegranate (Red, Orange, White Stripe), Lemon (Yellow, White Stripe), Root Beer (Brown, Tan, White Stripe), Cinnamon (Red, White Stripe), Orange (Orange, White Stripe), and Mint (Red, White Stripe).
In the photo from 2012 I used YumEarth Organic Lollipops.
If you don’t mind the artificial colors you can find lots of colorful swirl lollipops on OrientalTrading.com
The jellybeans that I gave the kids to eat were vegetarian Green Beans All Natural Jelly Beans and Surf Sweets Organic Jelly Beans.
The jelly beans we planted were just regular ones from the dollar store and since we don’t eat them I save the bag for planting each year.
I got the Dudley’s Jelly Bean Filler Eggs at Hobby Lobby years ago. Good luck finding them anywhere online, I haven’t had any luck.

The kids have enjoyed planting the Magic Jellybeans for the past few years and this year Jonathan will be old enough to join in the fun with his sister and cousin.

Have you ever planted a Magic Jellybean Lollipop Garden? Is the Jellybean Prayer part of your Easter traditions? Let me know in the comments!

**DISCLOSURE: This post contains Amazon.com affiliate links. If you purchase something using these links I may get a small amount of money. This does not change my opinion of the products recommended, all opinions are my own.

*FREE PRINTABLE EASTER BUNNY PAW PRINT TEMPLATE

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2011

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2012

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2013

*50+ EASTER EGG DECORATING IDEAS

*NATURAL DYES FOR COLORING EASTER EGGS

When I saw the Mama Kat vlog prompt “Things kids do that I don’t understand…” a million things ran through my head, because, seriously, kids do the weirdest things. But this one moment with my daughter when she was just shy of 21 months old stuck out in my mind so much, I had to share it with you…

Adaline wants me to sing Bippity-Boo…or does she? (Video here)

This post is linked to…

April is almost here and it’s time to start planning your holiday traditions!
Here are some ideas for family traditions for April holidays.

*30+ APRIL FOOLS PRANKS TO PLAY ON YOUR KIDS

If you’re not really digging the idea of pranking your kids maybe you can come together
as a family and create some silly and foolish April Fools Day fun with these…
*APRIL FOOLS DAY FAMILY TRADITIONS!

*FREE APRIL FOOLS PRINTABLES!
Just print and prank!

*EASTER TRADITION: MAGIC JELLYBEAN PRAYER AND LOLLIPOP GARDEN

*FREE PRINTABLE EASTER BUNNY PAW PRINT TEMPLATE

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2011

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2012

*EASTER TRADITION: EASTER BUNNY TRACKS 2013

*50+ EASTER EGG DECORATING IDEAS

*NATURAL DYES FOR COLORING EASTER EGGS

MARCH HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

FEBRUARY HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

How to make leprechaun footprints: video tutorial

Here’s a quick video tutorial showing you how to make the leprechaun footprints that you see in these posts:
*Leprechaun trickery is afoot! and
*St. Patrick’s Day Tradition: Leprechaun Footprints.
I also included some footage of Adaline discovering the mess the leprechauns made in 2013.
(Watch video here)

To make leprechaun footprints:
-Put green Crayola washable fingerpaint on a plate, piece of paper, or thick paper towel
-Make a fist and dip your hand into the paint (dab off the excess)
-Press your fist onto your surface of choice
-Use your pinky finger to make toes
-Repeat using other hand

More details:
-It takes me about 45 minutes to make the mess.
-I do ALL of the prints for one foot/fist at the same time so that I don’t have to keep switching hands.
-It takes about 5 minutes to clean up the footprints.
-The footprints wipe off easily with water. You may want to use some soap if the paint was on long enough to dry.
-My daughter enjoyed cleaning up the footprints.

Has a leprechaun ever visited your house? What kind of things have your kids thrown in the toilet? Let me know in the comments!

*March Holiday Traditions

*Leprechaun Visit 2013: Little green footprints!

*Leprechaun Visit 2011: Magic green milk, footprints, and more!

*50+ FREE St. Patrick’s Day Printables (Links)

*The time that Buddy the Elf stole a picture from my blog!

*30+ April Fools Pranks You Can Play on Your Kids!
Great for Leprechaun tricks and Elf mischief as well!

*Easter Bunny Tracks: Paw Print Trail!

*Santa’s Magic Sooty Bootprints!

This post is linked to…
SITS craft link up / SITS Sharefest /Kids Activities Blog: St. Patrick’s Day

Yesterday at 2pm my husband sends me a message “Buddy the Elf is posting your St. Patty’s Day post on Facebook.” and I’m like, “I have no idea what that means.” So he tells me that his sister sees this picture of our house in her Facebook feed and she called to tell him, and then he told me.

At first I was excited thinking about how awesome it would be to get a ton of unexpected traffic from a Facebook page with over 11,000,000 followers. And just in case you have trouble following all of those zeros, that’s over 11 million people. Woo to the hoo!

So I go to the Buddy the Elf Facebook Page and I see my photo has been “liked” over 6,000 times and shared on Facebook over 1,000 times. And my heart sinks. Because here is no source link back to me included. In fact, there’s no link at all.

To make things worse it was an older version of the photo from 2011 that wasn’t watermarked. I hadn’t even been blogging an entire year yet when I published that post and it never crossed my mind to watermark my photos.

Then I saw a glimmer of hope. There was a link in the comments to a pin…maybe I was given credit after all! The link goes to a pin on Buddy the Elf’s Pinterest account with the description, “Have you seen these toilets? They’re GINORMOUS!” And when I click on the pin…

It leads nowhere. Well, actually it leads here. The original pinner (Buddy?) had pinned the image url instead of the post url, so when you click on the pin it just brings up the photo instead of leading directly to the post. The good news is that “coolestfamilyontheblock” is included in the image url, but most people aren’t going to take the extra step to search for the blog.

So this is a cautionary tale for you, girls and boys. Always watermark ALL of your photos before putting them on the internet, because you never know if your content will be stolen by a 6 foot tall elf with a following of 11 million people.

Furthermore, never pin or repin a photo without a proper link to the original source! This means that you should be clicking through and checking sources before repinning. I know that Pinterest can be addicting and you can get pin happy and just start pinning all of the things and who has time to click through when I’m so busy planning my dinner/wedding/birthdayparty/dreamhome/workoutplan?!

But you seriously need to slow your roll, pinner, and make sure that you are pinning responsibly! It doesn’t do anyone any good to spread “bad” pins around that lead nowhere or that lead to the wrong place. It’s frustrating for fellow pinners who are seeking the original source for content/information and frustrating for the bloggers (content creators) who are missing out on traffic and potential new followers. Follow the golden rule while pinning, if you wouldn’t like someone else spreading around an unsourced photo of yours then please don’t repin without checking the source first.

I know that you’re busy. So am I. (sorta) If you really like a pin and you really don’t have the time to check the source, please repin to a secret board and then go back and check the source later before pinning publically. (“Woah, Jenn, what a great idea!” You’re welcome, imaginary blog readers.)

As I’m writing this my image has now been shared on Buddy’s Facebook page over 2,000 times and has over 10,600 “likes” and his pin has been repinned 250 times. And mama ain’t seein’ none of that traffic
Woo Boo to the hoo.
I could report the photo on both Facebook and Pinterest and have them removed for not crediting the original source and copyright infringement or other fancy legal sounding what-nots, but I have no interest in this at the moment. I don’t care if they shared my photo…I just want my traffic. In an attempt to remedy the situation, I started dropping my link in the comments on both the Facebook page and on Pinterest. I started “liking” the positive comments and replying to some of them. Did it help? I don’t know. “Buddy” hasn’t responded to me at all.

How can you help?! I’d really appreciate it if you could help me get the watermarked version of this photo along with the source link out into the internet, particularly on Facebook. It would be great if you could share it on Facebook through your personal profile and/or Facebook page.
I’ve included some links below for quick and easy sharing!
*Share/like/comment on Facebook
*Repin
*Share/+1/comment on Google+
*Retweet

It would also be great if you could head over to Buddy’s Facebook page and find my comment where I left my link and “like” it so that it gets bumped higher in the comment thread. Click here

Do you always watermark your photos? Do you check sources before repinning? Has an elf ever stolen your blog content? Let me know in the comments!

This post is linked to SITS Sharefest