Pick a movie with your eyes closed! Watch it, then each person answer the following questions: What was your favorite part of the movie? What was your least favorite part of the movie? Who was your favorite character and why? Pick 6 movies and number 1 through 6. Roll a die to choose which movie to watch. Watch it, then each person answer the questions … Continue reading Family Fun Night!
Soda? Replace sodapop with a healthier substitute. Kids love bubbly drinks so mix flavored seltzer water with juice or other non sugary beverage. Smorgasbord. Make something different each night for dinner. At the end of the week, to make dinner fun, put all the leftovers out adding a few other favorites and have a smorgasbord. Everyone takes what they want and has variety. (Rose DiCicco is … Continue reading This Works for Me: Food!
Marc Weissbluth does a great job explaining why infants, children and adults need sleep. He describes the importance of sleep and how to establish good sleep patterns from birth. He talks about how to calm all types of fussy infants and children. He goes into detail about how to establish sleep patterns from infants to toddlers and brings in practical tips to help with the out of the … Continue reading Book Review: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
RECYCLING: Save those baby wipe containers. They’re great to store markers and crayons in After soap and water, styrofoam trays from package meats make great paint trays when stenciling or for various children’s crafts. Also good for kiddies’ snacks. Keep baby food jars and lids until you’re inspired to make potpourri gifts. Fill jar with potpourri and cover lid with pretty cloth. Tie a ribbon on and … Continue reading This Works for Me: Recycling!
SAFETY TIPS. When throwing away plastic bags tie a knot (or several) in them first. Small children will not be able to put them over their heads if they get into the trash. As soon as your baby can crawl, get into the habit of keeping the toilet seat lid down. Husbands need to practice this. Curious children can fall in and drown! Remember to … Continue reading This Works for Me: Safety Tips!
After having our first child, my husband encouraged me to go back to school. He wanted me to have a marketable skill in case anything ever happened to him. He also felt that the burden of being the sole provider would be lessened if I chose a career that had part-time options. I decided on a two year, full-time nursing program at a local community college. There … Continue reading Moms to Moms: Going Back to School
Clothing should be light-weight and loose-fitting Hats prevent overheating. Wide brims protect faces and necks from the sun. Drink 6-8 eight ounces of fluids daily. Increase fluids with increased activity and exercise. Replace lost fluid and salt in extreme heat. Alcoholic beverages do not count towards fluid intake. Use sunscreen with a sun protection favor (spf) of 15 or higher. Reapply sunscreen frequently because it washes away with water … Continue reading Fun in the Sun!
Explore nature with a MAGNIFYING GLASS. Make a VOLCANO by piling dirt 10″ high. Dig a hole in the top. Pour in 2 tsp. Baking soda followed by some vinegar. Watch the ERUPTION! Have ROLLAR SKATING or ROLLAR BLADING RACES around the block- using proper safety gear, of course. Set-up a times OBSTACLE course at a playground: go down the slide, along the monkey bars, swing on the … Continue reading Summer Fun Ideas
Before bed, my children and I exchange NOW and LATER KISSES. The NOW KISSES go in one hand and we “eat” these right away (sometimes they are “flavored” like candy.) The LATER KISSES go in the other hand and these get stuffed under the pillow for later if we get lonely. This has been a fun game and very special works well when a parent is … Continue reading Heartwarmers
Buying secondhand is a great way to save money on baby/children items, but there are some things that you want to look out for before you purchase secondhand. Playpens: Make sure that it is made after 2000; 1999 was the last year the safety guidelines were updated for playpens. Check to see if the mattress is still intact. Look out for any holes in … Continue reading What is Ok to buy used: Baby items
ART with Angela DiCicco, The Italian Grandmama's Guide 