Autumn Scavenger Hunt {printable}

We love going for walks in our house. And we love doing in even more in the autumn. We all love this time of year and there is so much fun stuff to find on even a short walk. We always end up coming home with a collection of items. 

My kids love lists and being able to tick things of their to do list.Yes my kids do chores around the house but this ticking is all fun. I made up this scavenger printable based on things we find around our area but I'm sure you will find most of them anywhere.

Just right click to save it to your computer.

We always have trouble finding acorns around here so when we finally find one, we're going to have cake. 

I hope you enjoy using this. If you do use it, I would LOVE to see your kids having fun with it. Use the hashtag #cgrprintables and let me know.

Here's to lots of crisp, dry day and long walks.

Have a good one!

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The BEST Homemade Play Dough Recipe

I have the best, no cook play dough recipe ever.

It's so easy to make. No messing with pots and burning play dough.

It's soft, smooth and you can make it in whatever colours and flavour your little heart desires.

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of salt

1 tbs of cream of tartar

1 tbs of oil

Food colouring

Food spices/flavouring

1 cup of boiling water

Directions

Mix all ingredients except the boiling water together in a large mixing bowl.

Add the boiling water and mix well.

Add the food colouring to the water.

{The food colouring will mix in better if added to the boiling water.}

 Please take care when using boiling water around children.

Stir well until the mixture is well combined.

Turn out on the counter and knead it gently.

If it too wet... add more flour
If it's too dry... add more oil.

It's that simple!!

I hope your kids have as much fun as my two had. Were going on 5 hours of entertainment with this stuff and this mom isn't complaining.

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Reindeer Footprint Canvas

I kids always give homemade gifts to my family.

We try to keep the cost of Christmas low. And if I was to leave them get something in the €2 shop, it would probably be a cheap piece of tat that will get thrown away.

I love marking a moment in time and a memory of my kids for my parents to look back on and have meaning to it.

When the kids were a little younger we made this canvas for my mother. She loves it so much that it stays out all year long on a shelf in her sitting room. Christmas Reindeer in July?? It works.

It's really easy to do. All you need are some willing kids, a canvas and some paint.

Paint their feet and make reindeer from their footprint. We used their thumbs to make the fairy lights and I used a sharpie to add the finer details.

What do your kids give to their Grand parents for christmas? Do you go down the home made route like we do?

Don't be shy! Let me know in the comments below. I'm always looking for new ideas.

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Autumn Paper Plate Wreath

I promised you all a quick and easy craft today and here it is.
{A little later than I hoped}

"Autumn Paper Plate Wreath"

This was so fun to do. We had so much fun collecting all the pretty leaves. Trying to find as many colours as possible and learning all about autumn and what happens in the season. I love how you can make an everyday thing into a learning experience for kids.

We had planed to do this with the leaves that we collected but it just wouldn't work for us. I think our leaves might have been too dry. We decided to use some colourful tissue paper ( Tesco for €3) instead and the kids were much happier. Happy kids = Happy Mom.

All you need is:

Leaves/ Tissue paper

Paper plates

Glue 

String

Cut the center of the plate out so it looks like a wreath.

Attach the string to the wreath.

Let your kid go crazy with the glue and stick the leaves/tissue paper onto the wreath.

Let it dry and your done.

Hang you kids awesome wreath on the door or window and admire nature indoors.

Make sure to click the link below for more beautiful paper plate wreaths.

Click here

Make sure to keep the middle of the paper plate. I'll have another craft later in the week that you'll need it for. 

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Lessons in Motherhood: Ten random things I have learnt as a mother

To say that my kids have thought me things since they were born is an understatement. They have helped me grow as a person. They have thought me to be more patient, loving and understanding. They have thought me that I can live an very little sleep or food. They have thought me that I can deal with anything that life throws at me because there is nothing more determined or stubborn than a 2 year old that wants something.

I'm linking up with Learner Mama : Lessons in Motherhood Link up today and below are a some of the many thing I learned over the past 6 and a half crazy beautiful years of parenting.

No matter how much food they have on their plate, yours always looks better and they want yours.

I have to share pretty much everything with my kids. But sometimes this mom just needs to hide in the bathroom and have a cream egg on her own. 

My son can sleep through anything but if Daddy so much as coughs quietly in the morning when he gets up, he'll hear it and there is no more going back to bed 

Sometimes, the couch with a crappy little blanket and a lumpy cushion are better than fighting over 6 inches of space on the bed.

Putting clean clothes on my kids means that with out fail they will get juice/food/dirt all over themselves in about 10 seconds flat.

That my kids poop, puke and buggers are not disgusting. Other kids poop, puke and buggers are the MOST disgusting thing ever and will make you want to vomit. Go figure.

That you will protect your kids with every fiber of your being and God help the people that try and hurt them. Think Mama Bear mode.

That when you open your mouth sometimes your mother comes out. It doesn't matter how much you said that it would never happen. It does. 

That we all need a break from our kids. That sleep overs at Nanas house every now and again are lifesaving. And even though you can't wait for some alone time you will more then likely miss the kids for every second and can't wait to get them back.

That my kids are amazing. They can go from demons to angels in the blink of an eye. They can make me crazy and make me want to lock myself away in the bathroom. But they can make me feel like Supermom and the most loved person in the world. That they are the greatest things I have ever made and I will love them unconditionally forever.

If you want to see some of the other amazing bloggers that linked up head on over to Learner Mama and have a look around.

Happy Monday!!

ox Caroline

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Bring back play : Keep kids active

Did you know that our children aren't getting enough physical activity in their day? Did you know that 1 in 4 children are overweight or obese?

I did not!!

Did you know that children are supposed to get 60 minutes physical activity everyday? I didn't know this either. I've never sat down and thought about it before. I never thought "are my kids getting enough exercise?" How am I going to get them to do physical activity for 60 minutes? Thankfully it doesn't have to be all at once. It can be spaced out through the day making it easier to get the whole 60 minutes in. 

When I was younger we never came inside. The weather was, from what I can remember, much kinder to us back then. We didn't have 276 kids channels. We had 2. And the news was on one so I wasn't that great. We had no reason to be inside. Now there are so many things that allow kids to sit on their butts and do nothing. If you think about it, it's not surprising there are so many over weight kids.

Thankfully, my kids are very active. They run me ragged by the end of the day and never what to come inside. Even if it's pouring rain. I think that comes from seeing me and their dad being active. We run, cycle and ride horses. Our lifestyle means that we're nearly always outside doing something.

Safefood have launched a very exciting campaign all about encouraging physical activity through play for children – it’s called "Bring Back Play".  It’s part of their 3 year campaign on childhood obesity in Irish children. 

I've been sharing some of the games I used to play as a kid with my two.  When I was my daughters age my favourite thing was to run around my yard and field and pretend I was a horse. Galloping, jumping sticks on the ground. I was obsessed with horses and still am. They love to play this game. I loved to hulla hoop, ride my bike, skip and hop scotch. All simple things that keep the kids active.

If your kids are still fighting with you and still don't want to get up and go outside or the weather is just not cooperating, here are some more things that might get them up and moving.

Scavenger/treasure hunt

(This is simple getting the kids to go for a walk/cycle or do it around the house and look for a list of things.)

Indoor hop scotch

Pillow case races

Balloon tennis

Dance party

Wii exercise games

Cartoon exercise games

(This is where you set an exercise for certain things that happen in a cartoon. So if it's Mickey Mouse, every time Mickey says "Oh Toodles" the kids have to do an exercise.)

There really is no excuse in my opinion that our kids can't get in the 60 minutes. It so important for them to start young so they don't have to deal with this when they are older. Lead by example and set good ones for your kids.

This fact sheet from Safe Food really spells it out so everyone can see the benefits that exercise has on our kids  and their information hub has a list of childhood games and rules for the oldies who can't quite remember how to play these games.

If you're on Instagram, use the hashtag #60minutesaday to share how your getting your kids to get up and get active.

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Valentines with the kiddos

Valentines day can be difficult when you have kids.

Babysitters, booking a restaurant, trying to fit it all in to a couple of hours.

It can make it a teeny bit stressful.

But I am certainly going to try make our Stay at home Valentines special for all of us.

To start things off the kiddos got a "Bag of love".

I filled it with a Teddy, sweets and other bits and pieces I had picked up for them.

What do you get for the man who says he has everything?

I made a "Tub of love".

I filled it up with all his favourite sweets and chocolates. Simple but he was happy.

I try and make the food extra dpecial on this day.

Valentines Day Menu

Breakfast

Pancakes 

 Fresh fruit

Topping of your choice

Whipped cream

Dinner

Steak with mash and mixed vegetables 

Fried onions

Garlic bread

Dessert

Chocolate fondue with strawberries, marshmallows and mini cupcakes

Meringue Mess

I'm looking forward to having a quite night at home with the ones I love. Don't get me wrong. I luurve a good date night but I'm kinda looking forward to not having to find a restaurant, babysitter and hold in my stomach all night. I might just throw on a little black number and do my hair. He's worth the effort.

When the kiddos are in bed we will settle down to watch a movie.

Coin toss gets to pick the DVD.

How will you be celebrating Valentines day?

Love to all.

Top teething tips.

We're in full teething mode in my house right now. 

Little man is nearly 13 months and we still have only 3 teeth.

That's right people, 3 teeth!

For the most part he's pretty cool about it but when it goes bad, it's bad.

I have tried everything I can think of to help him from the traditional stuff to the wacky internet stuff I found.

I decided to put a list together to help other Mom's who might be in the need for some Teething tips.

Bonjela gel.

 It really is fantastic stuff. Numbs the gums nearly straight away. Only problem is you can't give it all the time. Every 3 hours. So what do you do when it wears off. You should have this in the house if you have kids. No question about it.

Calpol.

Again no mother should be without this stuff. Fantastic for everything.

Frozen Food.

Some examples of foods you could use are whole frozen green beans, frozen fruit slices, and ice cubes made of juice and then placed in a mesh feeder. We have tried the juice ice cubes, and he loved them! I have also tried frozen ketchup sachets. They are great to use as mini ice packs and he loved chewing on them.

Here are a few more things that I have yet to try but might have to try them soon.

A cold wash cloth.

Wet a face cloth and stick it in the fridge. Give it to the baby and let him go for it.

It's meant to sooth the gums and catch all that teething drool. Bonus!!

 Cold celery sticks.

     Apparently celery is a natural pain killer. I may have to 

     research this a bit. I don't like celery but if it helps him, I'll try it.

Tommee Tippee Baby Teethers.

      Tommee Tippee Baby Teethers  come in a variety of different styles for every stage of teething. While some are meant for beginning teethers, others are specifically designed for the later stages of the teething process. I have not tried these but they look like they would be very helpful.

The other thing I'm interested in trying is these Amber teething Necklaces. A Mom at school told me about these. Might have to try it if things get really rough.

Amber teething jewelry.

These necklaces offer a natural, drug- free alternative to soothing teething tots. Besides that, they are beautiful, lightweight, and have a lot of other homeopathic benefits.

Kidsme Food Feeder

AP over at I love you more than carrots found these amazing things the other day on amazon. There a new and improved version of the mesh feeder. All the convince of a mesh feeder without the trouble it is to clean. Follow this link over to her blog to read all about it.

That's it. Wish me luck in my battle with the teeth. 

Til next time.

DIY Mini Pizzas

My daughter always wants to get those awful mini pizzas and swear she will eat them this time.

And like a fool I buy them and the dag ends up getting them.

I hate waste.

There is no need for it.

Hubs doesn't est pizza so we normally have it when he's not around for dinner.

In an attempt to not waste more money and food I decided to get 1 large pizza to feed all 3 of us.

But in a mad fit of 5 year old drama queen, J decided she wanted mini pizza and wasn't going to eat my grown-up pizza.

So my Mom brain got to thinking and that is where these little beauties came from.

All I did was cut the pizza up with a cookie cutter and I had mini pizzas.

She LOVED them and I now don't have to get those awful cardboard things.

Happy Hump Day Everyone!!

Twistable organisation caddy

Every January I get this crazy need to organise my life. There is just something nice about starting a new year with a shiny new and organised house.

One of the biggest problems is trying to keep it organised. 

My daughter has enough twistables and colouring pencils for 10 kids but I guess you never have enough reds, or so she tells me.

I have put then in pencil cases, small bins, shoe boxes, every kind of a container but they always end up spilled out because she couldn't find the one she wanted.

That is how I ended up making this beauty. So simple but so effective.

All I needed was:

A shoe box

Wrapping paper

Toilet roll tubes

Double sided tape

I covered the box to make it look nice. My thinking was, if it looks nice she might use it more

I just stuck the tubes into the box with the tape.

And filled her up.

She loved it! She said it made her table look like an office. She's funny.

Any who, I'm hoping that this will finally keep this little corner of my house organised.

I'm lining up today as part of the “Dog Days (of Winter) Are Over”  link-up series.

I'm linking up with AP twice today so head on over to I love you more than carrots and check out some more of the amaze-balls projects these women have been tackling.

Happy Monday Everyone!!

1 year old photo.

1 year old

 This little guy turned 1 on the 29th and I am still in shock. Where has the time gone. I just can't understand it. You have completed our little family and made our lives all the better.

Happy First Birthday little man. LOVE YOU!!

Reindeer food.

I made these for the neighbors kids when I was giving out Christmas cards. They loved it and it didn't cost anything to make. I had everything at home. But the effect it had was priceless.

This what you'll need.

 We were going to do it in baby food jars but decided zip lock bags would be nicer and we could put a pretty label on it too.

 Fill your bags up with half porridge oats and half bird seed and add glitter and confetti.
Close the bag and tape it down.
Add a piece of card and staple it on to the bag.
Add you verse below and a ribbon and your done.



Sprinkle on the lawn at night

The moon will make it sparkle bright

As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam

This will help guide them to your home!

Merry Christmas everyone!

DIY Snow Globe

This is the simplest but most amazing thing I have ever made. I made these last year with Jasmin for her Nana and she loved it.

School holidays mean a gift for the Teacher. I didn't wanna get flowers or chocolates cos I'm pretty sure she would have loads of them. So we went with the Snow globe.

All you need is :
A jar (I used an Tesco apple sauce jar. It seems to be a good size)
Ornament
Glitter and small table confetti
Water
Glycerine
Ribbon to decorate.

Glue your ornament to the lid of the jar. Let it dry.
Put in the glitter and confetti. The course glitter is better if you have it.
Add the water and a few drops of glycerine. This makes the glitter float more.
Screw on your lid and check it's not leaking.
Add a ribbon or bow and your done!

Suprise some with a home made gift from the kiddos this year. They'll love it. I promise!

Only 4 more sleeps!!

Crafty Creations : Popsicle stick Crib

These little cribs a perfect for the kids rooms. Jasmin loves hers and I don't have to worry about her breaking my crib.

You will need:
6 fat sticks
1 skinny stick
glue gun
paint
tinsel
Sharpie


Cut your sticks like this.

Take the 3 full ones and two half ones to make the main structure of the crib.

Next add your Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Then add your Angel and the small sticks for the Baby Jesus' crib.

Get your little one to paint it like in the picture and add tinsel around the angel. Use a sharpie to make to eyes.

And there you have it. A pretty little crib perfect for kiddos or as a gift from them to the Grandparents.

I'm trying to do a post a day up to Christmas on something we have baked or crafted over the Christmas.

Check back tomorrow to see what we get up to.

Thanks for stopping by.

Crafty Creations : Reindeer keepsake decoration

Are you looking for a quick easy craft to do with the kiddos? Short of time or just too busy for all the mess and compilation? Well this craft will solve all your problems. :)

Get some brown coloured paper and trace your kids hands and one foot. Cut them out.

Stick the antlers (hands) on to the back of the face (foot) and you have your Reindeer. Add eyes and a smile and a piece of red paper for a nose and you have Rudolf.

Cute, right? Easy enough for even the busiest of Moms to do with their kiddos.

Happy Crafting!

Christmas bucket list

It's here!! CHRISTMAS!!! I love Christmas! I always have. I blame my Dad for this. I start thinking about it in July normally. Mad, I know.

I just love everything about it. The decorations, the smell of the tree, cooking, baking, open fires, the cold weather, drinking hot chocolate, Christmas movies, family time together, driving around to see the lights, Christmas music. Everything. Oh and crafting. How could I forget.

I love the way everyone just slows down at this time of year and enjoys time with their family.
I try to make Christmas as special as possible. Not only to make it good for my kids but so that they will pass on the traditions that we made together to their kids in years to come.

Here is my 'Christmas Bucket List'. I haven't ticked everything off the list but I'm working on it.

1. Make a CD or iPod playlist with your favorite Christmas songs. Have it ready as background music for all the other fun stuff you're going to do! 
2. Start a new tradition of making Christmas ornaments. Imagine decorating your tree when your kids are teenagers and looking back at those little ornaments you made so long ago!
3. Movie night with favorite Christmas treats. Actually, Christmas movies all month long!! 
4. Some of our favorite Christmas movies:
   The Santa Claus 1,2 and 3.
   The Muppet Christmas Carol
   Miracle on 34th street
5. Take your little kids to the pound shop to pick out gifts for their brothers and sisters.
6. Have a cookie decorating party. 
7. Get family pictures taken.
8. Go out for a cheap dinner. Keep it the same every year (for tradition's sake!), and then drive around and look at lights.
9. Visit a Live Crib.
10. Decorate a gingerbread house.
11. Have a Car Express! Watch Polar Express, or another Christmas train movie. Then, after putting kids to bed early (but before they fall asleep!), gather them up and present them with their golden ticket while the conductor (dad) whisks them off to the car for more lights and Christmas music.
12. Decorate your Christmas tree while sipping hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music.
13. Let Nana take the kids shopping for Mom and Dad.
14. Bake a Christmas treat and visit an elderly relative, godparent or neighbor,
15. If you make New Year's resolutions, write them on a slip of paper and put them in your stocking. Next year you can see how you did!
16. This one is just for the girls -- have sparkling cider and give each other pedicures! Or Mom gets to do them all if your girls are too small. Christmas music and/or a movie is a must!
17. Go shopping for Christmas ornaments. Each person can pick out a favorite ornament, or one that represents a special interest or event that year.
18. Make Christmas cards for friends and families.
19. Let the kids open a present on Christmas Eve -- new pajamas! Not only is this a fun tradition, but it ensures they will be dressed in cute pjs for Christmas morning pictures. 
20. Visit your town square if they decorate for Christmas.
21. Read "The night before Christmas" story on Christmas Eve.
22. Have a special Christmas breakfast, like pancakes or chocolate muffins.
23. Have a "sleepover" around the Christmas tree. Lay out blankets on the floor, watch Christmas movies, and eat special treats. Then carry the kids to their beds as they nod off.
24. For Christmas, ask Santa to bring the family a new game. Then play it that afternoon! 
25. Make Christmas crafts and homemade decorations.
26. Attend a local Christmas concert 
27. Attend a candlelight service with your family
28. Give each child a new ornament that represents something important they did that year.
29. Have a Christmas party full of fun, minute-to-win-it games. The games are simple enough that kids can do it. 
30. Set up candles (or use glow sticks) in your bathroom, and give the kids a candlelight bubble bath. Or take one yourself!

I hope, if you haven't got a Christmas bucket list already, that you make one to pass on the your kids. and they can pass on to their's in years to come. After all Christmas is all about family and making traditions.