Montessori Art Activity

This activity was a huge success with Nate. He sat for about an hour just stamping away. The wooden board is from AC Moore, cost about $5. You can find a 50% off 1 item coupon online. The wooden dinosaur stamps are from Target and cost $3(in the $1-$3 section). The paper was from a scrap book I have at home. You may use any type of paper. 

20 Random Facts About Me

I can't believe it is Blogmas day 22 and there are only 2 days until Christmas! I am beyond excited and impatient but theres a lot to do in the next two days for me. I'm having writers block today and had no clue what to write about today on the blog. So lets do 20 random facts about me so you can get to know me more. 

1. I love to smack David's butt. (He hates it but I can't help it) lol. 

2. I must sleep with closet and door closed or else I feel like someone is watching me. 

3. I always say Lol with every text.

4. I hate wearing pants to sleep. Feel restrained. lol. <-- did="" font="" i="" it.="" nbsp="" see="">

5. I have multiple favorites. Don't make me choose.

6. I'm allergic to mosquitos.

7. I call my mosquito bites "mosquito" "ugh this damn mosquito hurts" lol (David hates it)

8. I don't realize I have to pee until I can't hold it anymore. lol (Both my mom & David Hate it)

9. I love Shirley Temples. 

10. I'm obsessed with "House of Cards" right now. (On Netlix) Must watch.

11. I'm missing an eyelash on my right eye. (Had a chicken pox there and it never grew back)

12. Sometimes I confuse my left and rights. Lol.

13. I'm horrible with directions. (because of number 12)

14. I'm cracking up while writing these. lol. 

15. People always think of me as a Bitch until they meet me. (I'm a very nice person)

16. I used to talk to myself in the mirror. lmao I'm not crazy. 

17. I used to be scared of grass. (It still grosses me out)

18. When I like a song, I will play it over and over until I get tired of it. 

19. I have a funny way of laughing & it carried over to Nate. (Makes me laugh when he does it) 

20. I am a lefty! 

Toddler Stocking Stuffers

Here's a quick guide of stocking stuffers for toddlers. Nate has a stocking about the size of him, so it has to be stuffed with a bunch of goodies. So let's get started. 

1. Beanie Boos

Those puppy eyes get me every time I see one of them in stores lol. I think they're the cutest & Nate loves to cuddle with them. So it's a perfect stocking stuffer. 

2. Target $1-$3 Section Goodies 

Mothers favorite spot to shop in target. Lol. You can find so many good stocking stuffers in that section. I found a bunch of wood activities for toddlers. 

3. Books

A child can never have enough books. The more the better. Nate loves to lay in his reading corner & look at books. 

4. Music Instruments

A tambourine, shaker, anything that'll fit. 

5. Bath Toys

6. Coloring Books w| Crayons 

Anything art related. Nate has a big love for painting lately so painting supply's are great stocking stuffers. 

7. Wooden Cars

How can I forget this! Nate is obsessed with anything car related. As a matter of fact, he has a truck puzzle and he plays with the pieces as if they were cars. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw him. 

8. Eating Supplies 

Plates, cups, sippy cups, utensils. I'd go with ReplayRecycled products.

DIY Felt Christmas Tree

Day 17 of Blogmas and I can't believe there are only 7 days left until Christmas!! AHHH! Since we are getting closer I decided to make Nate his own Christmas tree before its too late. This is an extremely cheap and easy DIY project that any child will love because they're free to redecorate as many times as they want. So lets get to it... DIY Felt Christmas Tree. 

What You'll Need: 

1 Yard of Green Felt - $3 

Different color strips of Felt - .29 Cents each

Cups to trace ornaments - Items at home

Scissors

Velcro - About 6 pieces. 

Everything is from AC Moore. 

We used a Fabric cutter because its easier and we had one but scissors work just fine.

I had David draw the tree and star because I was afraid I'd mess it up lol. 

Trace the cups (both sides to make different shaped ornaments)

Final look. Felt sticks to felt so no need to add anything to the ornaments. You can add glitter or ribbon but I wanted it simple for Nate to take on and off as he likes. If your children are older have them decorate the ornaments as they'd like. Maybe this'll keep Nate from grabbing the real ornaments on the tree. So far he loves it! 

DIY Montessori Activity

Here is an easy cheap DIY project that anyone can do. It is perfect for introducing color and matching. If you're just introducing color, I recommend starting with only the primary colors (Red, Blue, and Yellow). Once they master those, then introduce more. 

What You'll Need: 

The tray was about $5 at AC Moore. I used a 50 percent off coupon so it came out to about $2.50. The little cups came with a lid. They were $1 each. 

6 balls & a painting tray. 

Each paint tube was .59 cents. 

and lastly some paint brushes. The foam brushes were a pack of 20 for about $2. Everything was purchased from AC Moore. 

Each cup took 2 coats. The paint worked out great! 

We didn't paint the lids because I had another DIY idea for them. 

Will post that blog tomorrow. 

The balls were a little tougher to paint but thankfully the paint dries quickly. 

Whole project took about an hour since I had Davids help. 

And this is the final result. 

It was a super cheap and fun DIY activity that I know Nate will enjoy. 

Painting Ornaments

For day 15 of Blogmas I have decided to share an activity we did with Nate this morning! He painted his own ornaments for the tree. It was his first time playing with regular paint and he had a blast! So lets get to it. 

What You'll Need: 

All items were bought from AC Moore. The wood ornaments were $1 each. The paint was .59 Cents each. And the paint brushes came in a pack of 20 for about $2. I set up a space for Nate on the table to paint freely. I poured a little of each color into the paint plastic thing that cost about $1.

Nate does not like when his hands are dirty! lol Every time he got a little paint on it, he gave me his hand to wipe the paint off. He didn't notice the paint on his face though. hehe! 

They are the cutest ornaments in my eyes! 

Then we enjoyed the beautiful weather at the park with daddy. 

Christmas Traditions

Time is literally flying because there are only 10days and 13 hours left till Christmas! Wow! Since there are only 10 days until my favorite day of the year I decided to share how we spend our Christmas. Last Christmas was our first Christmas as a family of 3! It was David's (my unofficial husband) first experience with the overall Christmas tradition of decorating the tree & opening gifts. So every year it is my goal to make it a memorable Christmas for both David & Nate. 

So we usually go to my dads & step moms house for Christmas Eve. We party with the rest of our family. The night is filled with joy & laughter! We have a couple traditions that have stuck with us through the years & they're some of my greatest memory's. I'm sure David can agree that it's the most wonderful time! 

The first tradition that stuck through out the years was the whole family wearing Christmas pajamas. My stepmom started it when she had us dress in pajamas to the Christmas party one year and the year after that everyone started to join in. So every single Christmas Eve we are all dressed in Christmas pajamas. Best part is there's no changing your clothes before going to bed lol. 

The next tradition was started about 2-3 years ago. We try to do activities so that we enjoy each other's company as a family & kill time until it's time to open presents. This one is a popular game that most people know of. I believe it's called the Elephant game, something like that. Everyone who is playing buys a gift 5$ and below. We wrap the gifts and put them on a big table. Everyone picks a number from 1 to how much people are at the party. One person chooses a random gift on the table & the next person who goes can either grab a new gift or steal a gift from someone who has already opened one. It is filled with laughter because there is always that one gift that everyone wants to steal. 

The next one also started about 2 years ago. Each family group makes a dessert that no one can know about. The family who doesn't participate in it are the judges. They judge on taste & presentation. Last year we threw a curveball & there was a secret ingredient in each dessert which was Marshmallows. I won!!! Woohoo!! It was very exciting. This year the theme is Puertorican dessert. 

We try to open the presents around midnight but usually it'll happen around 1130ish. David, Nate, and I usually sleepover my dads that night. Wake up to a wonderful family breakfast that my dad makes. We then go back home to open the presents under our tree with my mom also known as Nate's Mia. I'm looking forward to spending many more Christmases with my family & creating new traditions that Nate can remember years to come. 

What are your family traditions? I love hearing new ideas! 

The Renaissance Woman

Day 10 of blogmas!! Sorry for not blogging yesterday but Nathaniel got a random fever yesterday so couldn't find time to get a blog up. But I'm back for day 10 and I have something very interesting for you all; something that I relate to. Curse of the creative mind. A lot of people misunderstand me and my dreams, because I have so many. My ideas are never big enough. There's always something better. Another project. Some may call this a tortured artist. If you have many passions, pursue them all because if you don't, you will go on with "what if's" on your mind. I have spent the past few years just trying to find one passion. In the process I discovered many more. With every decision comes supporters and haters. We can't please everyone; most importantly, we must please ourself. When you make decisions for you, those who truly love you will support you no matter what. Today is the day that I embrace my talents. I will follow my heart even if my mind thinks otherwise. I will follow my heart even if others I love don't agree. If this sounds like you, don't be afraid to go with your heart. Be a woman of many talents. At the end of the day, we have one life to live. I'm choosing to live mine happy. 

What path will you choose?