Babies

You just finished reading I Sneak In Educational Apps Too {WW}! Consider leaving a comment!This post is written by Penelope Guzman from Penelope's Oasis. If you are not currently reading this via e-mail or an RSS feed directly from Penelope's Oasis, then this post has been stolen or scraped. Stolen content can be reported here [...]You just finished reading I Sneak In Educational Apps Too {WW}! Consider leaving a comment!This post is written by Penelope Guzman from Penelope's Oasis. If you are not currently reading this via e-mail or an RSS feed directly from Penelope's Oasis, then this post has been stolen or scraped. Stolen content can be reported here .

In celebration of the royal baby's birth next month, Maclaren has launched the Royal Baby Techno XT StyleSet. Included in the set is the full-featured Techno XT Stroller, a reversible and padded London City Seat Liner, an insulated Scarlet Pannier to keep drinks and snacks cool, a spacious Union Jack Magazine Tote and Maclaren's luggage tag. Maclaren is also giving away a few sets. From now until July 7, 2013, submit a photo and tell Maclaren about your favorite family traditions (max 250 characters) and you’ll be entered to win our Royal Baby StyleSet and your very own Family Crest designed by a renowned British illustrator! Share the contest with your friends and invite them to vote for YOUR entry in Maclaren's gallery. To enter via Twitter or Instagram with your mobile phone, snap a picture and tag it with the hashtag: #MaclarenRoyal

What can a dollar store cookie tray, dollar store hair gel, plastic vinyl and paint possibly create? How about a no mess finger paint tray! Finger painting can be so fun for little kids. They get to sink their hands into that gooey paint and make colorful masterpieces. It’s all fun and games until you have to clean that mess up, not only are those hands all covered with messy paint, but most likely your table, their clothes and even their faces. So wouldn’t it be nice to have the finger paint experience with out the mess? You can with this DIY: no mess finger paint tray. Perfect travel toy: You can take this on a road trip and keep your kids entertained for hours. It doesn’t make a mess (if you’ve sealed it properly) and the kids can doodle over the black paint and discover the bright colors underneath. Materials: - Cookie Tray (Dollar Store) - various bright colors and black acrylic paint - Hair Gel (Dollar Store) - Clear Drying Caulk - Clear vinyl fabric (purchased from a fabric store for $4.99 a yard) Optional - Primer Spray Paint - Spray Paint (Pink in our case) -  Ribbon Supplies: - Hot Glue Gun - Paint Brush Instructions: 1. Wipe down the cookie tray to remove all dust and grime. Trace around the inside of the cookie sheet on the clear plastic vinyl (twice and cut out two vinyls). STEPS 3 and 4 are optional. 3.  Spray the primer to cover the cookie sheet. Let Dry. 4. Spray paint the cookie sheet all one color. Let Dry. 5. Using the acrylic paint and paint brush, paint diagonal stripes of different colors on the face of the cookie sheet. 6. Hot glue the first piece of vinyl down over the painted stripes. Make sure there are no gaps in the glue so nothing can get under the vinyl by leaving a continuous bead of hot glue all around the border of the tray. 7. Mix 1/4 cup of hair gel and 1/2 teaspoon of black acrylic paint. Mix up in a plastic sandwich bag. 8. Dispense the black paint on to the tray by cutting a corner of the plastic sandwich bag and squeezing out the paint onto the very middle of the tray. 9. Put a continuous thin bead of caulk around the edge of the cookie tray and place the second piece of clear vinyl on it. We used too much caulking (use 1/2 as much). 10. Use a wood craft stick to push the vinyl and the caulk to the very edge of the cookie tray to create a firm seal and get rid of the air bubbles. Let dry until the caulk is completely clear which may take several days. And then caulk a second time on top of the vinyl. Use your finger tip to get a nice smooth seal. Once everything is completely dry – hot glue ribbon to cover all the caulking edges. 11. Spread the black paint over the tray once the seal is dry. 12. Use an eraser or a wood crafting stick to doodle on the finger paint tray. Be sure not to use anything sharp so the vinyl will not puncture. Tips: FROM EXPERIENCE, be sure to let the caulk dry completely before spreading the black paint we played with it a little too early and it made a mess. Depending on how much caulk you use it may take several days for it to completely dry. We recommend using a thin bead of caulk (not as thick as the image shows) that keeps a good seal for the fastest drying time. The post DIY: No Mess Finger Paint Tray appeared first on Design Dazzle.

We have all had those times where we have been out and about and suddenly our child has to go potty – now! We rush to find the restroom only to screech to a stop in horror at the scene that lies before us. Is there anything more disgusting than a public restroom? Dads if you are on your own then you have it even worse. Desperate times call for desperate measures however so here are some tips to make it through without losing your lunch: Family Restrooms – Thankfully businesses are starting to get it when it comes to having kids. Family restrooms are usually one large restroom where you and your child can get everything done without parading in front of a crowd. This is also great news for dads of little girls. Instead of marching through the men’s room with your hand in front of her eyes you can calmly shut a door and have privacy while you hyperventilate. Cover Up – Toilet seat covers are usually available, but when you have a kid that can quickly become one more step in a rush to reach the potty in time. Instead, make up your own with layer of toilet paper. Fast, easy and efficient, these covers work just as well to get your kid safely seated. Stay close however as most public toilets are too large for some kids to stay perched safely. No Touch Zone – Make sure you cover proper public bathroom behavior before it becomes an emergency. Teach your kids not to touch anything in the bathroom and never, ever stick their hands in their mouths or eyes until they have been washed. If your child is of the right age this can be a perfect opportunity to talk about germs and sickness. Wash Up – After you are through with the potty, make sure you teach your child to wash their hands thoroughly. You may have to lift the little one up to reach the faucet and soap but this essential task should not be overlooked. Other methods of quick clean up include sanitizing wipes and liquid, but soap and water works best. Departure Proceedings – Last things first or first things last, always try to make it a habit to get your kids to go potty before they leave the house. This will cut down the amount of time you spend in public restrooms and your stress level. If you are always running late or in a hurry try to set aside a few minutes for this essential task. It is well worth the effort. These are just a few tips to help keep you and your child happy and healthy even after a visit to the public restroom. It doesn’t have to be a scarring experience as long as you keep little hands and rears clean. Author Bio: Rachel is an ex-babysitting pro as well as a professional writer and blogger. She is a graduate from Iowa State University and currently writes for www.babysitting.net. She welcomes questions/comments which can be sent to rachelthomas.author @ gmail.com.

Comes in Vanilla with Vanilla Trim or Green Apple with Chocolate Trim. These unique kimono robes from 100% organic cotton are perfect for baby. $22.95 at Tiny Birds Organics

A sweet moment while Brent opened his gifts on Sunday morning. Taking the new tie and sunglasses for a test drive. Two of the best dads in the world - my own and my husband. We celebrated them with a cookout at my grandparent’s house in the country. A happy little boy after discovering an old tractor toy in my Papa’s barn. Opening cards and gifts with my Papa. I am so thankful my children get to know the man who made my own childhood so magical. An impromptu concert under the gazebo while the children danced in the grass. Brent, proving that Carhartt overalls are the perfect dad uniform. Love, M

What a great weekend we had! Lemme tell you about it. Friday night, we had pizza for dinner. Okay, not an exciting night, but pizza is always a good thing, right? Saturday, I got to sleep in because I was exhausted from a lack of sleep Thursday night. Once I gave the boys breakfast and did some laundry, etc, etc, I took the boys to the pool. I hadn’t joined yet for the summer, and I was a little nervous about dropping money on something the boys might refuse to do. Last summer, we joined, but I probably went by myself more often than with the boys. They just weren’t really into swimming all that much. But Saturday was a revelation! I put their Puddle Jumpers on, and to my delight, Oliver and Miles got right in the pool and “swam” off. Linus, however, was content to sit on the steps. But within the first hour, I was able to get him to at least hold on to me. And once we were out in the pool, I was able to let go of him, and from then on out, he was as fearless as his brothers! (Well, almost. He still wouldn’t let me throw him like Miles or put his face in the water like Oliver.) So we spent a few hours at the pool on Saturday and later on Sunday. The boys didn’t want to leave, but I was pretty exhausted. I was trying to stay as active in the pool as possible, you know, burn some calories, so both Saturday and Sunday nights, I was beat. Saturday afternoon I went and photographed my friend’s daughters who are 3 and 8 months. The 3 year old was…tough. But such a beautiful child! Ah well, I’ll try again when she’s four. Ha! Sunday was of course Father’s Day, so we went and had brunch and then took the boys to the pub, as I mentioned yesterday. Usually, the boys hate going to the pub (much to George’s sorrow) because there are often dogs in there. But they had a great time. Especially since Daddy will buy them as many bags of crisps as they want. At lunch And so we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool, and then I made a yummy dinner (that the boys didn’t eat, but that’s okay, I didn’t really expect them to) that I accidentally added an extra cup of wine to. Oooops! Just as well the boys didn’t eat it! The post If all weekends could be like this… appeared first on pyjammy's triplets.

The backseat of the car is where kids spend a great deal of their time. I should know- it wasn’t until I actually bought my first car that I finally moved to the front. Until then, I spent years smooshed into the back with my siblings, whether heading to school, social events, or going on [...]You just finished reading Life in the Backseat #SubaruBackseat! Consider leaving a comment!This post is written by Penelope Guzman from Penelope's Oasis. If you are not currently reading this via e-mail or an RSS feed directly from Penelope's Oasis, then this post has been stolen or scraped. Stolen content can be reported here .

Hi I’m Jamie and I blog over at C.R.A.F.T.! That’s a nifty little acronym for Creating Really Awesome Free Things! I also have another fun blog called Really Awesome Costumes, it’s all about really awesome handmade costumes. Anyhow, I’m super excited to be a part of Summer Camp at Design Dazzle. I love thinking up clever, in expensive activities for kids to do! Someone did this for my siblings and I when we were kids, and we loved it! It’s perfect for warm summer nights, and it’s fun for kids and adults. Who doesn’t love a little glow in the dark action! All you need is: Clay pot Dirt or rocks to hold up the glowing paint stick Paint stir stick 10-20 glow in the dark necklaces (make sure they come with connectors!) tape This is a super simple project. First tape a glow stick to the paint stir stick. You can use any kind of tape! Stick your paint stick in the pot with dirt or rocks or dirt and leaves, like me! Oh and if you don’t have a handy pot, just stick the stick in the ground! Make sure and wait to make your rings until it’s time to play! They glow usually lasts about 4-5 hours. It’s hours of fun for kids and adults! Oh and you can make the game as complicated or as simple as you want. You can make different sized rings worth different amount of points. There are lots of ways to play! Be sure and check out more kid crafts and aciticites on C.R.A.F.T. Happy Summer time! Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Google +| Instagram We are hosting Summer Camp through July 3rd (weekends will be for our regular posts). We are featuring awesome “Camp Counselors” (blogging friends) who have created super fun ideas and activities to help you SURVIVE summer with the kids. Click on the Summer Camp banner to be taken to our Summer Camp series. The post Summer Camp: Glow in the Dark Ring Toss appeared first on Design Dazzle.

I recently talked about some of our new favorite educational and fun iPad apps for Ryan. They’re from Super Duper Publications and help Ryan tell stories, think about timelines and cause & effect, and teach him to recognize words in the process. We recently got to try out some learning games from Super Duper! For 27 years the awesomeness of Super Duper Publications was only available to teachers, therapists, and special needs professionals. Now, they’re being made available to us and I’m thankful because they are really amazing products. My mom used to teach elementary school and when she saw these games, she got really excited. She knew all about them and the “core curriculum.” Vocabulary Chipper Chat has 12 different categories to help kids understand and use new vocabulary and language skills. This is great for multiple kids, daycares, classrooms, etc because there are 5 sets of each of the 12 category game boards (so you can play with 5 kids at once). Here are the categories: analogies associations attributes categories compare and contrast context clues figurative language functions homonyms homophones synonyms and antonyms verbs There are 360 cards (30 for each of the 12 categories) with prompts and activities. I got Ryan excited initially for this game because of the magnetic wand and chips! That alone has been a learning tool–counting, adding, and subtracting, so far! The game is for grades K-5 and Ryan is only 3.5 years old, but we have fun playing. Of course there are parts that are harder for him and sometimes we don’t even try to use the category card and just pick prompts and activities to do. So you pick a card and complete the prompt… you roll the die and you get to place that number of chips on your large category card. The incentive??? Is a GREAT ONE. The winner gets to use the magnetic wand to pick up all the chips. It’s almost hard to get through a session before Ryan is dying to use the wand, haha. Just for Laughs is a really cute game. It’s supposed to help children understand the multiple meanings of jokes. I can imagine it’s hard for little ones to understand what’s “funny” and why. I know I have to explain my jokes to Ryan sometimes–or maybe I’m just a terrible joke teller, lol. There are 100 joke cards that include a photo, which is awesome for Ryan that can’t read yet. On the back of each joke card, there are 4 lessons that explain why the joke is funny. The deck has 40 jokes with multiple meaning words, 30 with multiple meaning phrases, and 30 with multiple meaning sentences. You can earn “smile” chips as you play This game just always cracks me up because Ryan will do a really loud (fake) laugh and it’s hilarious. It’s for grades 3 and up and maybe by starting Ryan early, he’ll become a future comedian Ryan would NOT let me take a photo of his funny face, lol. Super Duper Publications submitted 6 games, including these two, to The National Parenting Center for review. They ALL received rave reviews and the Spring 2013 Seal of Approval! They are: Just for Laughs, Ring Bling, Super Duper StoryMaker, “WH” question cards app, Vocabulary Chipper Chat, and Which One Doesn’t Belong? GIVEAWAY: one lucky reader will win their choice of one of these 6 award winning games from Super Duper Publications! Open to US and Canada. Please use the form below to enter–good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway The post Super Duper learning games (giveaway) appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.