I love summer. A lot. And I love getting out on adventures- big and small, near and far – with my kids.
I love summer. A lot. And I love getting out on adventures- big and small, near and far – with my kids.
I’ve probably hinted before that it has been a long winter in these parts. The warm sun is shining, but there are huge mounds of snow yet to melt. And we are currently in the middle of Spring Break for the kiddo. I’m sure we’re not the only ones needing some fresh inspiration for activities, so I’m sharing some of our favourite board & card games to play together.
There’s one word that people start to dread at this time of year. Winter. Folks here tend to start wincing and grimacing when it comes up in conversation toward the end of February. I enjoy the snow, some cold, and know the importance of having these season, but it can be hard not to grow weary of all the layers needed just to leave the house, the freezing wind, the cars that don’t want to start or need digging out. And we get grumpy about it now, because honestly, we’ve still got a ways to go.
I’m a homebody by nature anyway, but we definitely spend more time at home during these cold weeks. As a mama, it can be nice to have a *few* activities up your sleeve to do with the kiddos, that doesn’t involve snowsuits. Today I’m sharing some of the things that Sammy & I have been up to this winter, to pass the time cozy & warm.
Time for some more good reads for kiddos! Cat books? Of course cat books!! Sam has had a fondness for cat books since he was a babe. Anything cat, anything dino. He’s totally our kid! Anywhooo, when I went to write this post, I realized just how many cat books we have. I pulled the ones out we read the most or were obsessed with in days past.
We have quite the book worm in our house, and honestly, reading is pretty important to hubby & I too. We started reading to Sam as a baby, in the toddler years we could pass hours just reading stories to him, and reading time is built into our day-to-day routine even now. We’ve definitely got a lot of favourites! Some are pretty common, others might not be, so that’s why I thought I would start to share some of our good reads.
This was the second year in a row that Sam requested a Dino themed birthday party and when you’re kiddo is turning FIVE, you smile & embrace all the fun! Which for me, means diving into all the Dino Pinterest projects I’m constantly pinning.
I grew up in the age of birthday favors, but struggle a bit with them now as a mama. In the past, it has just been candy. This year, I really wanted something the kiddos could keep & enjoy. From that the Dino Terrariums started to take shape. I opted for spending more money on the favors, but made them serve dual duty as a party craft too.
For Christmas, we decided the main gifts to each other would be Lego! Yep, a Lego Christmas! We each got to choose a BIG Lego set, with the intention of doing family Lego building time. Of course, Marcus and I grew up with Lego in our lives and this past year, Sam has finally graduated more seriously into the land of Lego {from the land of Duplo}. We thought getting some big sets would be a great way to spend quality time as a family.
Two things you need to know about this recipe: 1) I adore SOFT marshmallow squares & this recipe fully embraces that, and 2) It contains nuts. If you’re OK with those two features, then take a peek, try it out and enjoy!
Yes. Seriously. My life still revolves a lot around dinosaurs each day, so trying to find interesting dino gifts is definitely on my holiday shopping list. My need for dino gifts is mostly to satisfy our almost-four-year-old, but dinosaurs aren’t just for kids. Here are some ideas that work for the “big kids” too.