Christmas Lights Secret Code Scavenger Hunt (Free Printable)

One of my fondest memories of Christmas as a child is driving around on Christmas Eve to look at all the lights. If you know me or you've been reading here for a while, you know that I am almost totally blind. With the little vision I do have, I can see light and color which makes Christmas light displays perfect for me. I used to love pressing my face against the car windows to look out. There was even a house near where I lived that had a huge walk-through lights display. Cars would be parked along the roadside, and families would walk through paths of lights all over the yard. It was my absolute favorite thing at Christmas time! Many of those same lights are now featured at part of the decorations at our local park, and I can take my own kids to see them. It's a tradition I intend to continue as long as possible. This year, we couldn't wait until Christmas Eve so we did our annual Christmas light drive last weekend. To make things even more fun, we used this scavenger hunt from Layers of Learning. Boo enjoyed searching for everything on the list. We found all but one, and luckily, some face book friends gave us a hint on where to go to finish the hunt. It was great fun! For next year, though, I wanted to do something just a little different. I decided to add a little reward at the end of the search. So I created a secret code scavenger hunt. When you find everything on the list, the code says, "Look under the tree." I'll have to make sure to be a little sneaky and put a small gift under the tree before we leave. I think this will add one more element of fun and excitement, and besides, I love presents. If you'd like to try your own Christmas lights secret code scavenger hunt, you can download a free copy below. Merry Christmas, and enjoy!

Click here to download the Christmas lights secret code scavenger hunt. Be sure to remember to put a gift or reward under your Christmas tree before leaving home, or you might end up with some very disappointed children.

Eating Out With Little Ones: Tips For Making Dinner Delightful Instead of Disastrous

I take the parenting stance that it's important to introduce our children to all kinds of experiences and situations at a very young age. We take our children virtually everywhere we go; to restaurants, the grocery store, the library, etc. It gives them a chance to learn how to act in different places, and they gain valuable life skills that will carry on throughout their childhood. However, having said that, I definitely feel that there is a right way and a wrong way to handle outings with children. The other night, my family had the opportunity to eat out at a local restaurant that isn't what I would call upscale, but is casual dining with mostly adults. The atmosphere is fairly quiet and subdued, but their was a child there, thankfully not mine, who was not behaving very well at all. It got me thinking about how I feel about children in a restaurant setting, and I realized that I have a few solid guidelines that I follow when we're out somewhere.

First, be flexible. Know your child, and go out at a time that is most likely to yield good results. This would exclude things like the middle of nap time, fussy time, etc. If that means pushing dinner back an hour, then it might just be worth it. The main goal is to help our children be successful in whatever situation they're in, and that means not setting them up for failure from the beginning. This also means being flexible about the place you choose. A crowded restaurant where you're going to have to wait to be seated may not be the best choice if there is some place else available.

Next, be prepared. I know that sounds like common sense, but it's amazing how many things we forget when we're rushing out the door. Active, little hands can mean big, messy problems at a crowded table. There are a few essentials I always try to have on hand when we're going out. 1. finger food: Just in case the restaurant doesn't have anything available, I always carry finger food in the diaper bag. I usually have a small container of cereal or baby yogurt bites, but we recently had dinner with a mom who had a container with several compartments that she'd filled with a variety of foods. I thought it was a very smart plan. These are also perfect for times when your child is really hungry and can't wait for the main meal to arrive. 2. Toys: I always try to have something to keep the little ones occupied. As they get older, many restaurants provide crayons and a place mat to color, but sometimes it's good to have an alternative. For infants, I recommend a soft toy such as a stuffed animal or soft book. One thing that really irritates me is when a baby has a toy he's pounding on the table. Gator is notorious for this, and trust me, the soft toys make a lot less noise. When Boo was a toddler, we kept an activity bag in the car filled with quiet things to occupy her. Recently, though, I've discovered the idea of busy bags. These are simple, quiet, mess-free activities that can fit into a zipper bag and be pulled out whenever needed. Lots of creative moms have shared ideas on what to put in these, and you can find a great list to get you started over at Still:Living. I'd like to make a few of these for Gator as he gets older.

Finally, be respectful. Sometimes all the flexibility and all the preparation in the world aren't enough to soothe an upset child or prevent a temper tantrum. It's important to be courteous of other diners and know when it's time to leave. Restaurant staff are great about packing to-go boxes quickly for a family with a crying child. And, yes, I might just be speaking from experience. Once, when Boo was a baby, we were eating at Fazoli's, and she started crying for no reason I could discern at the time. Dad told me to go ahead and eat, and he took her out to the car to try to calm her down and figure out what was wrong. Twenty minutes later, as I was finishing my meal, he came back in with her still crying. We switched spots, and I waited in the car with her while he got a box for his lunch. She calmed eventually, and Dad had pasta warmed up in the microwave. It wasn't a fun experience, but we were the only ones who knew it. If we hadn't taken steps to remove her from the situation, the whole restaurant would have had a bad time, and that wouldn't have been at all fair. Also, we need to be mindful of the waiters and waitresses. Their job is to take care of our food needs throughout the meal. Their job is not to entertain or clean up after our children. If, for example, Gator spills his Cheerios all over the floor, we pick them up. Again, I might be the voice of experience here.

If we follow these three main rules, we give ourselves and our children the best opportunity to learn and grow and to make some great family memories in the process. Not to mention, we all get to eat some great food that we didn't have to cook, and, best of all, nobody gets stuck doing the dishes.

Tried and True Diaper Rash Treatment: Aquaphor Plus Maalox

First, a disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and the opinions expressed here are from my own experience and what has worked for my family. Please don't treat this as professional medical advice.

So we're in teething mode again. Gator is working on tooth number seven, and for some reason, that means diaper rashes. It's really the only time he gets them, but they're pretty nasty. A couple of teeth ago, our pediatrician recommended an diaper rash remedy that was new to me. We tried it, and it worked faster and more efficiently than anything else we've used with either child. I'd take before and after pictures to show you just how well it worked, but somehow I don't think Gator would appreciate that much when he gets older. So you'll just have to try it for yourselves.

What you need:
Aquaphor Baby Healing Skin Ointment
Maalox Advanced Regular Strength (liquid
A small container
A spoon or something to stir with

Instructions:
in a separate container, mix equal parts of the Aquaphor and the Maalox. They will not mix easily, but keep stirring. Eventually, the two ingredients will form a sort of paste mixture. Spread some of this mixture on Baby's bottom, and cover with a diaper. You can save the leftover mixture in an air-tight container, but you will probably have to stir it again the next time you use it. If the rash doesn't clear up in a day or two, I'd recommend checking with your doctor; but, so far, this remedy has worked for us every time.

Comments Feature Fixed

So I've heard from a couple of people that they're comments were not showing up on the blog. I believe I have fixed the problem on my end. Hopefully, I'm right. I can't tell you how much I value your feedback. Also, in addition to commenting here, you can always reach me at lifewithbooandgator@gmail.com. Let me know if you have any more difficulty. Thanks.

Origami Christmas Treat Baskets Video Tutorial

Today, I'm sharing a video that Boo and I made demonstrating how to make origami baskets that we're using to hold Christmas candy for the kids in her dance class. All you need to do the project is a square piece of paper, tape or glue, and stickers or other decorations.



If you watch the above video, you'll notice that it comes to an abrupt stop just as we're beginning to decorate our baskets. That's because life happened; or, to be more precise, Gator Happened. He decided to pretend to be Houdini and escape from the straps on his high chair. He then proceeded to turn around in the chair and stand up. Talk about nearly giving me a heart attack. Anyway, given the choice between saving the baby from falling on his noggin and forging ahead with the video, Dad (behind the camera) chose the baby. Good choice. So we've made another video that starts up where the first one left off. Unfortunately, I'm not technically savvy enough to know how to splice them together. Put that on my list of things to learn. Here's the rest of the project. Enjoy!



Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions or comments about this project. We enjoyed making it, and we hope you enjoyed watching.

Boo's Dance Recital and Tips for Choosing Extracurricular Activities

Last Sunday was Boo's Christmas recital for her dance class. She attends class at a local church, and I can't say enough positive things about the program! The recital was a huge success, and I was a very proud parent.

It got me thinking about our children's extracurricular activities. I'm amazed at the range of possibilities out there from sports to dance to music lessons to clubs and groups. There sometimes seems to be an endless supply of things for kids to be involved in, and the choices can become completely overwhelming. So, how do we keep our kids involved in plenty of activities that interest them and not get so bogged down with the running here and there lifestyle that we lose sight of other important things like family time and play time? I'll admit, I'm not always as good at the choosing as I should be. We've had months where we didn't have even one free night at home, and that was with only one child. I don't know how we could have done it if Gator was old enough to have his schedule as well. This year, though, we've scaled things down quite a bit, and I can't believe the improvement it has made. In case I forget myself sometime in the future and try to return to the craziness of being over involved, and in case anyone else struggles with the same thing, I'm posting some thoughts on choosing extracurriculars wisely.

1. Cost: I know, I know, that shouldn't be my first priority; but, lets face it, kids activities can get expensive. So look for things that give your child the best experience for the price.

2. Interest: I'm talking about the child's interest here, not the parent's. Sometimes, it's easy to push our kids into things because they sound really good to us. We have to remember that our children's interests may be different; and after all, they're going to have to participate in the activity. Make it something they'll enjoy.

3. Time: This is another big one, and it's actually the only complaint I have about the previously mentioned dance class. It's at 6:00, right during the time when we're normally eating supper. It's not so bad because it's only one night a week, but too many nights like that could spell major trouble for our evening routine. Try to find activities that don't coincide with another important thing on your schedule.

4. Commitment: Make sure you understand how much of a commitment the extracurricular requires, and if you choose it, be willing to stick with it. This one is especially important with activities like athletics where your child is part of a team. I'm not saying that commitment is a negative. It's not. I believe that children need to learn this valuable skill and to understand the importance of follow through, but don't over commit and become overwhelmed.

5. Organization: If my mother happens to read this, she'll laugh. I'm admittedly one of the most unorganized people around, but, especially if it's a group activity, I think organization is key. We've been to several functions where the majority of the time was spent trying to figure out what was supposed to be going on and where we were supposed to be, and it completely sucks the enjoyment and fun out of things. So take the time to find out how the extracurricular activity is run before you make a final decision about it.

There's no magic formula to tell us exactly what our kids should be involved in, but I think, by remembering these few tips, we can take a lot of the stress out of the decision. Most of all, we want to provide enjoyable, enriching experiences that our kids will learn from and remember far into the future.

DIY I Spy Christmas Ornaments With a Free Printable

Today we made these fun I Spy ornaments inspired by the ones I saw on CBC Parenting. They're a great idea for gift giving and for your own children as well. In fact, we made them for some of Boo and Gator's cousins, but we ended up making extras for our own tree. The original instructions suggest using rice or fake snow to fill your ornaments, but we didn't have either of those things on hand; so we used some decorative sand instead. I think it added some fun color to our ornaments. It did make them quite heavy though; so if you choose to use sand, you'll definitely want to glue the tops closed. We also composed a cute little poem to attach to our ornaments listing the items hidden within, and I'm sharing it here in case anyone wants to use it or get ideas from it. The following are the steps we used to complete this project (poem download link is at the end of this post):

What you need:
clear ornaments with either screw-on or pull-off tops (we bought ours at Walmart for $0.97 each)
paper clips
small jingle bells (available in craft stores. Make sure they're small enough to fit through the hole in the top of the ornament.)
buttons
shells
yarn
miniature clothes pins (available in craft stores)
wooden beads (available in craft stores)
decorative sand
hot glue gun
ribbon
card stock
hole punch
scissors

Note that if you'd like to use different things to hide in your ornament, you can simply create your own list to attach.

Instructions
Put 1 paper clip, 1 jingle bell, 1 button, 1 shell, 1 clothes pin 2 wooden beads, and 3 pieces of yarn (we used different colors) into the top of your ornament. Fill the ornament about 3/4 up with sand. Close the ornament and glue with the glue gun to make sure it cannot be opened. Shake the ornament to mix the hidden items throughout. Print the poem out on card stock, punch a whole in it, and string it on a ribbon. attach the ribbon to the ornament, and you're finished. Now you can enjoy searching for all the items on the list. When you've found them, simply shake the ornament to stir things up, and play again.

Here's the text of the poem we used. The download includes five copies of it on a single page so that you can make more than one ornament at once.

Look inside! Use your little eye!

Here are ten things for you to spy!

A paper clip, a jingle bell,

A button and a small seashell!

Three bits of yarn, a tiny clothes pin,

Two wooden beads and that makes ten!

Did you find them? Was it fun?

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Download your own copy here!

As always, thanks for reading; and remember to visit CBC parenting for detailed instructions for these ornaments and lots more great projects and ideas.