Time for Baby Entertainment!

These are my BEST ideas for entertaining babies and toddlers! 

1.  Music: With my boys, once I established a bedtime routine my life got a lot easier.  One on our favorite nightly bedtime additions to our routine was listening to "Martha Stewart Baby: Sleepytime."  This tradition started when they were infants and sometimes we still play the music to help our kids wind down after a crazy day.  We start playing the music as we give bottles or eat snacks.  It continues to play while brushing teeth, reading a  book, saying prayers and hugs and kisses.  Sleep always seemed to come quickly as the music lightly played.


http://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewart-Baby-Various-Artists/dp/B00005NQK6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1302833940&sr=8-1

Amazon has it for sale new and used.  Our local library has it, but several of the copies have scratches.  You might want to rent it before you buy it.

2.  Computer Games:  Kids see adults on computers and think they should be using one too.  Giggles Baby is a favorite.  Sit baby down at the table or in a high chair and let them play on the computer.

You can find all different software on amazon.com

3.  Busy Balls for Baby.  Both my boys LOVED these balls.  They keep little ones entertained for hours.  My only suggestion is when they get older the balls disappear.  The balls are hard and when they can be thrown hard, they can be a problem. 



4.  Switch Toys Out!  Although toys are great kids can get board of them quickly.  The best solution to this is to have a series of boxes you switch toys out with.  You can have as many boxes as your home can handle, but really two boxes is great! When the kids are board of the toys,  just pull out one of the new boxes.  Put all the toys that have been played with in the box, and hide them away.  Just make sure to divide similar toys into each box, so you don't have too many of the same item in the same box.  Every few weeks switch out the old toys for the hidden toys.  It will be like the toys are brand new!!! (this works with older children's toys too!)

5.  My kids LOVED "Sesame Street."  I like it because it is educational and keeps the kids entertained for an hour! Who can pass up Elmo and friends!!!

6.  Take em for a walk.  Planning a daily outing makes for a great division to the day.  If you plan it around the same time each day, your child will know what to expect.  You don't have to be gone long, even a 10 minute walk with brighten your child's day.   If its raining take a rain coat and umbrella, and show them how to jump into puddles, and watch the worms crawling. (take your camera or video camera! First time worm introductions are so funny!)  Even on snowy days you can take a quick walk.  Point out and count snowflake shapes on a dark colored towel.  Remember just have fun!

7.  Painting!  Painting and drawing can be so much fun! Dress them in old clothing or just a diaper. This is a much better activity to do outside, but can be done in a high chair during colder days.  Pull out tempura paint and paper.  Put blobs of paint at the top of the paper, and let them smear it all over.  If you are thinking you want to frame your child's work, you will want to do it a little differently.  Give your child one color and allow them to smear and play.  When it looks good take it away to dry.  When you take away the paper, you might want to give them another piece to play with.  Then allow the paint to dry.  Use another color after each color has dried completely.  Use a blow dryer for quicker results. 
I have used acrylics, and haven't had a problem other than it drys and can permanently stain.  

8.  Treasure Hunt.  Kids are always walking around and searching for things.  When they are not looking hide their favorite treat around the house.  Smaller toddlers or babies might need your assistance when you first start, but they will quickly catch on.  At first put the treats out in plain sight, then as they get better use more difficult spots. Use anything from raisins to fruit snacks.(small baby treats)   Have them count the snacks out loud.   They will love this game!!!

ENJOY!!!

Hare Kirshna Holi Color Festival

Who knew throwing colored powder on people would be so much fun.  The day started out in white shirts and jeans, and children who didn't have a clue what to expect.   When I gave the colored cornstarch to my kids they were unsure what to do.  Their concern was that they would get into trouble.  Ethan had yellow and Ryan pink, and I told them to chuck some color on me.  They looked at me funny and them with some concern started throwing the color on me.  As they saw my smile, and realized that I was filling their clothing with color they quickly lightened up.   Ethan got really into it and I found myself with a mouthful of yellow, and an ear full of pink!  Huge smiles shined on their faces!  Covering mom in a colored powder was a good thing!  The two of them ran around and colored everyone they could!  Their giggles and laughter filled the air with each new color they threw!  It made my heart very happy! 
We ate a yummy Indian meal and watched the show of people and fun!  The countdown was amazing as the colors flew into the air and the music played! 

Things to know!

Krishna Temple
8628 S State Road.
Spanish Fork, Utah
http://www.utahkrishnas.com/

Highlights!
Throwing color! 
Laughing at people getting blasted with color!
Awesome very loud, rock music!
Lots of chanting of Hara Krishna!
Beautiful Temple, and view!
Yummy food and yummy mango lassie drinks!
Pictures of my family having a great time!
The people!
The count down and spray of color in the air!
Lamas....and they do spit!

Colors go on sale the first of the month.  They are $2.50 a package, or you can buy a set of 6 for $10.
Don't show up thinking you are going to buy some, they sell out every year.  There were many a sad child who didn't have color! 

Saturdays are much more crowded than the Sunday event. 

There is parking behind the temple or you can pay $2 a person to ride a shuttle from one of many areas.  You will have to check back to see where the shuttles will be running from next time.   There is parking along the side of the road.  People were walking MILES, when there was actually parking pretty close to the temple.  I would highly suggest driving by the temple and seeing if there is close parking.  We parked in the back of the temple, and didn't need to walk or pay for the shuttle bus.

The food is AMAZING!  I would highly suggest it!  My kids were starving and at about 1/2 of my food.  It is $6 and could feed 2 people! It is ONLY vegetarian, so don't expect BBQ chicken!

The color will go through layers of clothing.  I had three layers and I still had color under my clothing. 

It snowed the night before we went, and it was a little muddy, not bad, but still slippery.  It was a little cold and wet.  Plan on it being cold and windy.

You will get colored!!!  Don't think you can avoid it!  Plan on being covered with color!  Curt thought he would avoid it, but in less than 5 minutes he was hit! Green covered his whole back!  Someone hit him, they got him GOOD!
Don't wear anything you like! I wore white so I could see the color, but after washing it everything was pink.  then the second wash it turned purple.  I even bleached it and about 90% went back white, but it will never be the same!  Even jeans will still have a light pink hue for a few washes.

If your hair is light, your hair will take whatever color you get hit with.  My hair is still pink, purple and green!  I washed it four times last night and it is still colored.  Very slight, but I am no longer a blond!

Take a water bottle or extra water of some kind.  If you get a mouthful of color it can be a little icky.  Just have the water on hand just in case your mouth gets filled.  It doesn't taste bad, it's just dry.  I got a mouth full of yellow, and was amazed that after 1/2 hour I could still spit dry yellow out!  I had a MOUTHFUL!

We brought extra clothing to change into and sheets covering the cars seats.  Even with the change of clothing the sheets still had color on them.  I would highly recommend taking towels and sheets to protect your car. 

Above all HAVE FUN!  This can be such a fun and crazy experience!  RELAX and Just let go and enjoy! This isn't a time to keep clean, it's time to have fun! The whole point of the color festival is that everyone that has fun, and begins to look the same.  The color of your hair and skin doesn't matter anymore, you will all blend in! 

Hope to see you all there next year!!!

 

If you have questions PLEASE ask!

Winter Fun!!!

Winter is here! Here are some ideas to keep kids entertained during the long winter months:

• Museum of Natural History: http://umnh.utah.edu/home 1390 E Presidents Circle M-S 9:30AM-5:30 PM Prices: A $7.00,K $3.50 Free Family Mondays on the first Monday of every month. Group rates are avail with 2 week advanced reservation: A: $4.50 K: 2.50 581-5567


• Cottonwood Rec Center: Swimming, Ice Skating, Racquetball, Aerobics, Fit Kids, Zumba Kids, Basketball. http://www.cottonwoodheights.com/ Racquetball Ruckus: rent a racquetball court and bring lots of balls, let the kids have fun. Swimming is open: 12-4 & 7-9. Fit Kids: after school 45 min. class designed to encourage children to lead active and healthy lifestyles. Kids are taught Yoga, games and obstacle course agility. Designed for children 5-12. Sign up at the main office. Time: 4pm M-Th Cost: $2 single visit or $18.50 10 punch card. ZumbAtomic: Specially designed class for kids ages 6-13 using Zumba fitness concepts. ZumbaAtomic is a 100% kid-friendly mix of songs, dances, games and energy that comes together for a fun, healthy program. Kids can participate with or without their parents. Regular adult fitness class fees apply for all ages for this class. Time: 5pm Thurs. Cost $4 members, $5 non-members

• Sledding: Parks or up the canyon. Kids hike for an hour up to Doughnut Falls area, Sled back down. Bywater park has a great hill, with not many people.  We winter hike about 2 times a week.  There are many trails that are perfect for kids!  Not only is it fun for us, it gets the kids out of the house!

• Thanksgiving Point Lights: 6-8 pm $8 per car. $3 wagon rides

• Chuck E Cheese: http://www.chuckecheese.com/ M-Th: 10:30am-9:30pm, Fri & Sat 10:30-10pm, Sun 11am-9pm. Sandy location: 10535 S State Street. Online Coupons

• Clarks Planetarium: http://www.clarkplanetarium.org/shows Free Exhibits TOO! Adult coupons can be found here: http://www.citydeals.com/?ref=CDUODk2OTU

• Classic Fun Centers: http://classicskating.com/sandy/sandyhome.html M-Th open 10am-9pm. Fri 10am-10 pm & Sat 12-10pm Monday night is Family night: $10 for a family of 5 (4-9pm only), Tues: Each activity is $2, Wed: unlimited fun for $7.50 (4-9 Only). Coupons here: http://www.citydeals.com/ref=CDUODk2OTU

• Incredible Pizza: http://www.incrediblepizza.com/draper/ Buffet, drink and $10 game card is $12 ages 4-11. M-Th 11am-8pm-game room open to 9pm. F & S 11-9 game room open to 10pm. Coupons Available on website.

• Boondocks Fun: http://www.boondocksfuncenter.com/public/draper/ M-Th: 10am-10 pm, Friday & Sat: 10am-Midnight. $12 Tuesdays.

• Skating at Gallivan Center.  Then go see the temple lights.

• Zoo Lights: Sun-Thurs 5-8pm, Fri & Sat 5-9pm Adults $6, Kids $4, 2 and under free.

• Ebenezer Scrooge Ballet: Murray High School 2pm & 7 pm

• Winter Smores: Up any canyon or in back yard to camp spot where you can built a fire.

• Ski free after 3 at Alta: This is our favorite!!!  Bring hot chocolate and cookies, eat in the parking lot after a fun night of skiing.

• Bouncin Off The Walls: Wed: Open bounce $5 per child 3-5 pm. 398 West 9400 South Sandy

• Dollar or Matinee Movie

• Jungle Jim’s Playland: M-Th: 11am-9pm, F 11am-10pm, S 10am-10 pm $8.19 all day pass. Riders 2 and under $5.49, single ride $1.29.

• Hollywood Connection: 3217 S Decker Lake Drive. Monday is “All Day Wrist Band $6.95. Tuesday is $5 for any show $1 popcorn, $1 drinks: Different deals on different days. M-Th 4pm-9:30 Fri 3-11pm Sat 11:30-11pm.

• Fat Cats Bowling: 3739 S 900 E. M-Th 10 am-12am/ Fri-Sat 10am-1am: More info at website: http://www.fatcatsfun.com/index.php/locations/salt-lake-city-utah.

• Make Sugar Cookies

• Gingerbread houses

• Neighborhood Front Yard Snow Art Contest: Have neighbors build a snow feature, and reward everyone with a award and a small gift. (best is show, smallest, most creative, best use of snow.)

Enjoy!

Be Good For Goodness Sake!

Christmas is almost here and I have been searching for a way to keep the magic alive. With all the kids at school taking about what is real and what is not, the magic is slipping away. This site is sure to keep your little ones guessing, and bring some much needed cheer!

Plug in the website and start building an email movie from Santa that is personalized for your child! It is so incredibly easy! It takes about 10 minutes to finish the whole movie. Select your the age of your child, and follow the easy steps. Add specific information about your child and if he has been bad, needs to work on something, or has been good. You can also add cute photos!! Also don't forget to send one to your sigificant other, friend or family!!! Everyone likes to be remembered for christmas!!!

The funnest part for me was seeing that my boys thought Santa knew them. Santa knows their name, their age, and if they have a brother or sister or BOTH! My boys eyes glowed as Santa talked to them through the email. This is so darling, and watching my boys get this message from Santa really warmed my heart!

Log onto this website, and start the process.

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

I would LOVE for you to post how it worked and how your kids responded!!!

Waiting: Keep Kids Entertained!

How many times have you had to wait for something while your kids terrorise you?  This year has really tested my ability to entertain my kids while we have to wait.  We have had numerous doctor appointments that have required us to wait for over an hour.  Going out to diner can be a challenge if your kids are board!
Here are some of my secrets to keeping my kids amused.
A backpack with many zippers and pockets can be easily transported, and can keep many items organized.
What I put in the pack depends where we are going and what we are doing. 
You can pick and choose from my list of items. 

The items you do pick should be kept only for going out or waiting.  These should not be items that your kids see everyday.  The new item will keep them more entertained!  If they see it everyday, it won't amuse them.

Basics: Needed in every pack
Pens
Pencils (sharpened)
Crayons
Scissors
Carola Markers

The List:
Coloring Books
Workbooks (Age appropriate) 
Mazes (my favorite is Kumon Workbooks http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Kumon )
Design My Ride (basic car outlines, then the child designs what the car looks like- http://www.supercoloring.com/ Select the coloring page you want.  Then click the picture again, then select "No Ad Version."  It will open up another web page.  Click the "+" to enlarge, and "Print Preview" to make sure the page is fitting correctly.  Then you are set to print.
Cranium Silly Stories ( http://www.amazon.com/Cranium-Silly-Stories-Play-Again/dp/0316012068 )
Family Flip Quiz ( http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=family+flip+quiz )
Old Magazines (I have my kids search for photos-Things that start with an A: apple,B: ball, C: car.  Then I have them cut (bring scissors) and paste the photos on a sheet of card stock.)
Best Knock Knock Book Ever ( http://www.amazon.com/Best-Knock-Knock-Book-Charles-Keller/dp/0806965134/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292006679&sr=1-5 )
How to Draw Books
Highlights High Five Magazine (best kids magazine!  It has stories and poems and stickers, lot's of fun!) http://www.highlightshighfive.com/ 
Highlights Hidden Pictures  http://www.highlights.com/
Brain Quest: Question flip book http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=brain+quest 
Favorite Toy, or Stuffed Animal!

Batteries Included
Nintendo Ds: With a variety of games.
CD Player with head phones: I use my old portable CD player and bring CD's.
Leapfrog Leapster: With games. (My Favorite for a nice dinner with family!  They ONLY get to play it when we go out to eat!  They are not allowed to play it any other time!!!)
ipod, or ipod Shuffle: I actually don't let my kids use mine, I don't want to have to worry about them loosing them or causing damage.  The CD player has been enough for my kids.
Phone Games: Pull up a game on your phone and show them how to do it.
Digital Camera:  Take photos of them and then show them.  Have them make funny or silly faces. They can use it too, but I have found this can get  a little annoying. 
Portable DVD Player: Perfect if your child has to try to be motionless.


Over the summer we had to have our little 5 year old sit in a completely dark room for 40 minutes.  I had find things to entertain him in the dark.  Here is what I came up with.
"What is it?" Put items in a bag that have a specific feel: Legos, paper clip, marshmallow, plastic fork, little toys, playdough.  Don't use anything that you will have to wash your hands, keep it clean.
"What does it smell like?"  Put items in plastic baggies that have a specific smell: Oranges, apples, lime, lemon, garlic, vanilla drops, honey, BBQ sauce, candy.
Tell a story:  Pick a topic, and each person tell a portion of the story. 

No Bag No Worries
I SPY:  Find an object in the room and use one description word, "I spy something red."
Name Game: 1. Write out one persons name, and use word to make a sentence of each letter. 2. Reverse the your names and see what it spells.  3. Try to see how many words you can make out of the letters from your name.
Alphabet Words:  Name a word that starts with each letter of the alphabet. 
Perfect Sequence: Have the child follow your moves in sequence, keep adding a move.  Example: Touch your nose, child touches their nose. Touch nose, elbow, then the child touches nose elbow.  Touch nose, elbow, clap. Child touches their nose, elbow and then claps. (additional moves: snap fingers twice, tap knees, wink, blow a kiss, ect.)
Concentration:  Pick a topic like animal.  Go around the group naming different types of animals. When an animal is repeated the games starts over.
Picture Words: Draw the word into a picture.  Example: Draw a bow, with the "W" drawn as a bow.
What's Red:  Make a list of everything that you can think of that is red.  Change the color and make a new game.
Say it again: Each person make up a simple sentence.  Have each player read their sentence aloud in the following ways: 1. As if they were out of breath.  2. Didn't understand.  3. It was really funny.  4. Frightened. 5. Sad. 
Telegram Fun: Create an abbreviated telegram by giving initial letters only.  Each person make what they think it says.  Example: CISITH: can make Cat Is Stuck In Tree. Help.

There are so many ways to entertain your children.  Changing up the activities every time really helps to make any event fun.

Traveling with little ones can be challenging too.  Especially when driving long distances or flying on a long flight.  Although movies are really great entertainers for kids, they will get restless if you pull them out in the first few hours.  If your flight is longer than 2 hours you will want to plan to have something else to entertain in the beginning of your flight.  The flight usually has a drink and food, and I make my kids wait at least until they are finished with their drinks and snack.  I try to start an activity first, like drawing, coloring or a maze.  Maybe another snack that I have brought with us.  Then the DVD.  The longer you can stretch the first few hours the happier you and your child will be.  When your child starts to get really restless that's when we pull out the video.  The last few hours of a flight are hard for anyone.  The video will let them and YOU relax for the final hours of the flight.

Have fun!

Deals...Deals...and MORE Deals!

There are so many sites that offer deals or coupons. You can buy a discount or coupon for pretty much anything!
They all offer great deals, with huge discounts.
Here are a few sites, just to name a few…

Media One Deals Utah
       Presented by local Utah news agencies. This is the of best!!!  Great local deals!
Citydeals
       This site offers many types of deals with different discounts.  They don't just offer one a day like the other sites.
Groupon
       Groupon is one of the best state to state sites.  I have had the best luck with them.  I bought a paragliding experience from them, and it was a great deal! Deals are located all over the United States.  If you travel, you can by deals where ever you go. I watched the California link, and bought surfing lessons for when we went to California!(we had to plan to use the coupon.)
Living Social
       This is a new site.  They don't have deals everyday. I have not bought from this site.
Deals That Matter
       This site offers deals mostly around South Jordan area.  Great deals.
Screamin Daily Deals
       Screamin Daily Deals isn't my favorite. Their customoer service is aweful!  If you sign someone up hoping you will get a referal, think again.  Unless the person buys with in 2 days of signing up, you will not get a fun $10 credit!
KSL Deals
       Local deals!  Really great site!  On this site we bought Olympic Park passes for 1/2 off.
http://www.utahsrealdeals.com/
      Channel 4 deals.  These are deals until they are gone, not just a daily thing.
My EZ Deal
       Coming soon.
How do you tell what coupons are right for you? Is it worth your time to buy it, or will it just a waste of money?
Every morning my email account is filled up with a bunch of coupon offers.  Which ones do I buy?

Here are a few questions you can ask before you click the "BUY" button.
Is the coupon in your area?
Or do you drive near that area regularly?
If the answer if "No" to both those questions, I would suggest you don't buy the coupon.
No matter what type of deal it is, if you are not driving near that location you are not going to use it. It is not worth buying it.
The only exception to that rule is if it is an internet coupon, or an activity that you or you family would love to do.
If it is a fun activity you want to do, here are some questions to ask.
When does the coupon expire?
Will you have the time or when will you do it. If yes, then make a plan, and write it on the calendar.
Another question is if you really like what you are buying? If you like yogurt, but only go once a month, then you might only want to buy one coupon for yogurt. Just because it is a deal doesn’t mean you have to buy a ton of them. I had a friend buy a laser hair removal coupon. Then when she went into the doctors her skin was too sensitive to do the laser. Now she is out the $120 for the coupon. Just be careful.

You can get some really great deals!  I love that I have been able to go and do so many fun and interesting things.  Hope these tips help you to decide which ones are best to get!

Stop the SWEAT!

In the 1980's there was a commercial that said "Never let ‘em see you sweat!" Remember that? I do, and I could never get my body to cooperate and stop sweating. Starting at my tween years, and continuing up to a few years ago I would lather myself up with that white stuff. I would buy anything that said something about “extra protection” cause I sure needed it! I did find that my body began to need more and more of it. Just a normal deodorant wouldn’t work for me, I had to have more. It got to the point that I had to get a prescription to help stop the sweating! My husband told me about the “Crystal” he used, and that it really worked great. I gave it a try, and it didn’t work at all for me, I was a sweaty mess!!! My body and sweating was getting worse and worse so I, in desperation, tried it again. I dedicated myself to using it for 6 months, and if it didn’t work then, I would stop. The first few months were really hard. I couldn’t stop my body from sweating, and I seemed to sweat more. Some of the days were so bad I had to take a shower twice just to control the sweat. Finally after about 3 months my body started to decrease. The waterfall that had seemed to run from my arm pits was finally getting under control! All those years of using antiperspirants had finally worked their way out of my body. By the time the 6 month mark hit, I was amazed at how much less I sweated. The best part about it was that I wasn’t worried about “hiding” my smell, or sweat anymore.

I still sweat, but not at all like I used to!

The Crystal has been such a huge positive change in my life.

Here are my tricks:

You HAVE to use it everyday. 

You have to wet the top to apply, use warm water not cold.

It can damage your marble countertops.  It dulls the top surface.  We haven't had a problem with cultured marble, or granite.

Don't tap it on your fauset, it is mineral based and will eventually cause hard water deposits on that area.

If you miss or forget to put it on you will KNOW it!

If you get stinky, you have to wash your armpits, not just re-apply.
The product works by stopping the bacteria growth.  If you start to smell, bacteria is already growing and they don't just die with a reapplicaion.

I have found I need to cover all the skin around my armpit, LET IT SIT for a moment. You don't have to let it completely dry, just soak in for a minute.

If you wipe it off by putting a shirt on, you will find it won’t work as well.

Don't drop it, it will break.  Then it can scratch and burn as you put it on. (no fun!)

I don't like the "Spray Crystal."  It's cold, and didn't seem to work as well.

Dedicate yourself to the product, don't jump between different things. 
If you give it a try just remember you have years of antiperspirants that will want to make you sweat, keep on trying!

(PS This also works on my boys smelly feet!!!  I use one for body and one for my boys feet. YAY!)

Hope it works for you!!!