Tag Archives: Single Parent

DIY Wine Cork Rainbow.

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There’s nothing like a craft and sip night with your favorite bottle of wine. But what do to with all the corks?

Turn them into your craft!

This DIY Wine Cork Rainbow makes the perfect decoration in your house and the excuse to buy more wine.

I personally love different types of wine. My favorite is sweet reds though!

When I went to Italy during college, we had wine every night for dinner. I think that experience really helped me love wine even more. It brings back those fond memories.

Speaking of things I love, rainbows mean SO much to my family. They’re a signal of hope, Mila, and creativity. That’s why I had to create a rainbow with all these wine corks I have in my jar!

If you’re ready to do something with yours, here’s what you’ll need for this DIY:

  • Wine corks
  • Hot glue gun
  • Glue sticks

To cut down on the weight of the rainbow, I decided to cut the wine corks in half. This took a little bit, but there’s a ton of blogs and videos that cover the best ways to cut them in half.

I just grabbed a cutting board and knife to chop!

Before starting, I poured myself a glass of wine and started organizing them.

At first, I did it randomly. It still looked super cute, but I thought ombré-ing the colors from dark to light would look adorable. You could definitely paint your corks whatever colors too. I just personally like the natural shades of cork.

After you get it all laid out, it’s time to use your glue gun.

This obviously takes a little bit of time and patience. Just know that your rainbow probably won’t come out exactly how you set it up.

I hit glued the sides first. Then to help make it more sturdy, I hot glued the back where the creases were. Honestly, it probably didn’t need that extra step, but I’d rather just get it all done at once.

It’s been a little while since I’ve crafted just for me, but I think it turned out amazing!

I took down the big picture frame that held all my corks and replaced it with this. My kitchen now has a happy rainbow that blends in perfectly. I smile every time I glance at my wine cork rainbow.

For your next girls night, I hope you can try out this DIY Wine Cork Rainbow and enjoy a big glass of wine. Crafting is always so relaxing.

Before you go, let me know in the comments what your favorite type of wine is. If you don’t drink wine, have you ever crafted with wine corks before? Would you try?

Then, check out some of these wine recipes and crafts from creative, wine loving moms!

The Forgotten Kindergartener.

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It’s back to school time.

Backpacks are filled up. Kids are excited to meet their new teachers and see their friends. Parents are watching their kids grow and learn. The elementary schools are getting a new group of students: kindergarteners.

They’re giddy and so cute. Moms and dads are snapping pictures with their kids walking into their school, in front of the door, or the school sign. It’s how it’s supposed to be.

Kindergarten teachers see their classroom fill up. Every desk is filled. They start to remember their students’ names and smiling faces. A huge classroom full of kindergarteners exactly where they’re expected, needed, and wanted.

But, I have the forgotten kindergartener.

There wasn’t a school list sent out to me. I didn’t get to prepare him to be away from me all day. No first day of school pictures or the last hug goodbye. There will never be ay more growth or learning or anything.

We don’t get to meet his teacher or have them remember his name or smiling face. He won’t get to run to my car in the pickup line and tell me all about his day.

He won’t wake up the next day and join his new friends for day two, three, or ever.

Because I have the forgotten kindergartener that I’ll always remember.

As much as I’m happy to see all the smiling back to school pictures this year, I’m really sad the one little boy’s pictures I want to see won’t be there. I’ll never get to see his smiling face or hear him talk.

Every day I know this fact, but it’s days like what was supposed to be his first day of kindergarten that it just hits a little harder.

Child loss and the grief that comes along does not just go away with time. You get stronger as a person, but it still is the most pain I’ve ever felt. Especially when you remember all that they should be and what you wanted for them.

Even though I didn’t really know how much I’d feel before Jensen’s first day of school, Mila and I did some positive things in his name.

We actually got the kindergarten supply list. A few days ago, we went out and bought what was on the list to donate a backpack. Mila helped pick out the different supplies and knew we were donating them for Jensen because some other little boy might need those supplies.

I packed them up with care, with Mila’s help and we went on our way to donate the backpack.

As hard and sad as it was, I’m always thankful to do things to honor Jensen and his life. This is definitely one that I hope to be able to do every year for him.

No matter what or how many years it’s been… I’ll always remember my baby boy.

Toddler Activity: Cake Decorating Sensory Bin

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Cake it till you make it with this Cake Decorating Sensory Bin.

Shaving cream is such a fun ingredient to use during sensory play. It’s cheap, versatile, and easy to clean up. That makes this bin perfect for kids and their parents!

I also loved seeing Mila’s creativity again and again. She did a lot of different designs and pretended she was a cake decorated the entire time.

It was a sensory bin success!

Here’s the only things you’ll need for this one:

I feel like I always say this, but putting this bin together took no time.

The longest part was cutting up the straws into sprinkles. For this, all I did was randomly cut it in small pieces. I didn’t measure or make anything exact.

Then, I put shaving cream in the bin. There was a decent sized layer there, but I didn’t fill the bin.

After that, I set it in front of Mila and told her the goal of the sensory bin. She did everything else without me having to monitor it.

The only thing I did have to mention that this was shaving cream… not whipped cream.

Mila played with this activity for way longer than I set it up. Which is always a win in my book. When she wanted to clear off her cake, we put the sprinkles in a colander and cleaned them off.

This Cake Decorating Sensory Bin really was such a simple and fun activity for her!

I’m the future, I can see this activity expanding into her spelling words or having her make certain images. Mainly because it was so easy!

Let me know in the comments your child’s favorite type of sensory play. I think Mila’s might be water!

Check out these other sensory play ideas too:

Toddler Activity: The Rainbow Fish Paper Craft

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The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister is a classic story about sharing. Since preschool is quickly approaching, I thought this story and lesson would be great for Mila to read and remember.

Sharing can be a tricky thing to learn, so a book with beautiful illustrations is a great place to start.

One of my favorite parts about this activity is you can make it however you want!

Every fish will as individual as your child.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Before the activity, I prepped the basics of Mila’s fish.

Instead of a paper plate, I just used left over scrapbook paper to make the fish’s body, fins, and eyes. Then I cute out aluminum paper and taped it on the fins. I tried to mimic the book, but I think it turned out just fine!

At this time, I also premade the foil scales too!

To start out this activity, we first read The Rainbow Fish. While reading, I asked Mila a few different situational questions like…

Would you share your scales?

Do you think you have to share to have friends?

Would you be sad if someone didn’t share with you?

Do you know you’re just as beautiful inside as your are out?

Plus a few extra ones that I can’t think of at the moment. Yet, they all touched on these topics.

Another BIG thing we talked about with this book is consent. Mila stated she wouldn’t want to give away her scales or parts of her. When she said this, I thought… duh mom?!

We talked about how it’s okay not to share all of yourself or things with others. But it is nice to take turns with toys and listening ears.

Who knew she’d get so deep so fast.

Then, I had her use her watercolors to paint her own scales. She made me a beautiful pictures first.

After she was finished painting, we let the paint dry. It only took a little bit and you could speed it up with a hair dryer. Then make more paper scales.

To assemble rainbow fish, I taped the back of the scales and we talked about sharing and consenting again.

While she taped on her painted scales, I would ask her about positive ways she could share in preschool. Every time she thought of one, she could add a shiny scale to her rainbow fish.

I think she did excellent and was so proud of her fish after it was done!

When I reflect back on this book and activity, I’m really shocked with the questions she had. It also made me smile knowing she’ll be good to go with sharing and being a friend in preschool.

Let me know in the comments if you love The Rainbow Fish or what other books about sharing you’d recommend.

Then, if you love pairing books and activities, check out some of these ideas…

Water Balloon Tie Dye Sheets

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What’s more fun than water balloons? Throwing water balloons with tie dye in them at a perfectly white sheet.

Let’s just say, Mila custom made me Water Balloon Tie Dye Sheets to celebrate summer.

AND… I love them!

So, let me tell you this first. It was sort of a huge jump of faith to do this activity. Mila was introduced to water balloons this year and throwing them at other people… do you get where my brain went?

Unlike Mila, I didn’t wear a swimsuit for this activity. I hoped with all my might she wouldn’t just throw them at me.

She ended up not getting me with them, but if you do this activity, beware! Tie dye is so hard to get off other clothes if you can’t get to it right away. It also takes a few days to get off of skin too.

But it was totally worth it! This is my favorite art project of the summer that I get to use frequently!

When you brave it with your kids, here’s what you need:

There is some prep going into this activity. It’s a lot easier than the Balloon Pop Artwork we did for Mila’s birthday!

For some reason, Mila slept until 10 am one morning, which gave me a perfect amount of time to set up and prep for this. Usually I’m all for older kids helping with prep, but this one can get messy!

To start off, I mixed the tie dye together and let the solution saturate.

Then, I color coordinated the balloons to match the dye. This way Mila knew what to expect and could do more color recognition… because we’re always learning!

After I thought they were mixed enough, it was time to start.

I’m guessing there’s probably easier ways to do this, but this is how I did it. If you know of a better way, PLEASE let me know in the comments.

Anyways, I blew up the water balloon with air. Then, added the tie dye water to the balloon by sticking the tip of the bottle into the balloon. After, I added extra water into it.

See… messy.

I found it better to blow it up as much as it could and not fill it completely with water.

Not going to lie, this took a little while, but I had the time. If you’re planning to do this, just know they’ll want way more than you planned! We probably threw around 50 to 75. They all didn’t hit or pop on the sheet.

So, if you think you have enough, do ten more.

After the balloons were done, I set up the outside area. Since I have access to pallets, I used that to hold the big sheet. The pillow cases went to the ground to catch the splatter.

At first I had it more upright, but it worked better with a slant.

By the time Mila woke up, the area was ready to rock-n-roll. Let’s just say, she woke up pretty easy when she found out what we’d be doing!

All I told her to do was get her swimsuit on and meet me outside.

Then she saw the balloons and sheets.

I told her the plan for the day and she took right to it. Again, I’m thankful she didn’t hit me with any because I wore normal clothes. Which I would not recommend.

We found out that the balloons were harder to pop than we originally thought. I’m guessing because of the air in them.

She found her rhythm though!

Look at that lefty power.

It took a lot less time to throw all the balloons than it did to pop them.

I actually made more midway through.

We had fun talking about the different colors and making predictions about their pop. Like I said, it took a little bit to figure out how to pop them. I think the sheets softened the blow.

It was fun watching Mila’s strength and persistence while throwing them.

One tip I’ll give is to turn the sheets and pillow cases half way through. That way both sides can get optimal color!

I am super impressed with how these turned out.

To finish off the tie dye, I folded the sheet and pillow cases up, put them in a plastic bag, and popped them in the refrigerator overnight. Then, wash and dry them. They’ll be ready to go after that.

Once I put them on the bed, I’ll update this post and share on Instagram and Facebook.

We’ll definitely be tie dying again with this kit! I’ve made a few shirts with it, but this way by far the most fun we’ve had with it.

Have you ever tie dyed anything? What’s your favorite way to do it? Comment to let us know.

I think ours is with water balloons!

After you comment, check out how these moms incorporate water play with their kids!

Rainbow Watermelon Pizza.

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Did you know today was National Watermelon Day? To celebrate the occasion, we made a tasty little treat: Rainbow Watermelon Pizza.

This fun to make dish is perfect to take to cookouts or just to eat as a snack.

Plus… toddlers love to help decorate it too!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Watermelon
  • Fruit dip
  • Strawberries
  • Grapes
  • Pineapple
  • Kiwi
  • Blueberries

These are just the different fruits we used. You can use any that you like best!

First, cut all of your fruit into smaller pieces. I sliced the strawberries and kiwi, halved grapes, used pineapple chunks, and whole blueberries for ours.

Then, cut your watermelon into slices. Then you can make different shapes if your toddler would like. We used star cookie cutters for Mila’s.

After you figure out the shape of your watermelon pizza, spread fruit dip all over it.

You could also use whipped cream too!

Next, take the fruit and cover your watermelon. We ordered ours like the rainbow on Mila’s star and an inverted rainbow on my watermelon slice.

I absolutely love how these turned out!

It was such a tasty snack, but I bet they’d be a huge hit at family get-togethers or parties. I can even see it being an interactive station.

A melon-ion possibilities.

Yes. I absolutely had to throw a watermelon pun in the post somewhere. All of you would be disappointed if I didn’t after the Shark Week post! Which was just JAWesome.

No matter what you make these for, you won’t be disappointed with how they taste. And your toddler will love helping out with their snacks.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever made watermelon pizza.

OR

Comment your favorite fruit.

Toddler Activity: Olympic Ice Play

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The Summer Olympic Games are heating up! Try cooling off with a fun way to get your toddler excited about the games with a science experiment.

This activity is easy to set up and keeps your toddlers attention for a long time.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Flowers (you could use other things for the rings)
  • Water
  • Container
  • Freezer
  • Ice
  • Brushes

For this one, you have to do a little preplanning.

The night before you want to do this activity, it has to be frozen. I used an old Tupperware container and filled it with water. Then, I added colored flowers that matched the Olympic Rings to the container.

To keep the flowers in place, I filled the containers lid and put something heavy on it in the freezer.

It ended up looking like this…

Next, I poured a little bit of table salt into a jar and got some brushes out too. To help the melt, I also gave Mila a little cup of water.

Everything was set into a bin to collect the water.

All I instructed Mila to do was rescue the ‘rings’ and that the salt helped make it melt.

While she worked hard on melting all the ice, we talked more about the Olympics and I showed her how it was spelled. She’s recognizing letters that are in her name and the ones she sees frequently!

She worked really hard on figuring out the best way to make the ice melt.

Her favorite was to dump a ton a salt on the ice, then water. It was so neat watching her figure out why it was melting and what helped.

It really did take her a while for all the ice to melt. I was impressed with her persistence.

Once it was melted, she enjoyed played with the letters and the flowers in the water. Water is always a great sensory component!

During this play time, Mila let me know her favorite Olympic sport was swimming… of course. She thinks it’s amazing how fast they can get through the water! I’ve also showed her some gymnastics routines that she enjoyed.

We always love sensory play and toddler activities.

It gives toddlers time to have fun while learning and parents time to get some things done! This Olympic Ice Play was a hit with Mila and I think a ton of other kids will enjoy it too!

Do you watch the Olympic Games? What’s your favorite sport?

25 Self Care Activities for August.

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Hello August!

I’m completely shocked August is here. Summer is flying by, but there’s always time to focus on self care.

As parents, we sometimes forget to take care of our mental and physical health. It’s hard to fit it all in. Here are twenty-five self care activities that you can do all August long.

They can even be fun if you have littles with you too!

1. Take a walk

2. Read a book

3. Do a paint by number

4. Journal

5. Bake a cake

6. Listen to a podcast

7. Binge a new series

8. Go swimming

9. Take a drive

10. Tend plants

11. Visit a market

12. Go kayaking

13. Call a friend

14. Go to lunch

15. Buy your favorite coffee

16. Look at the stars

17. Pick flowers

18. Dance

19. Volunteer

20. Go on a walk

21. Cuddle an animal

22. Put new sheets on your bed

23. Take a phone free day

24. Go fishing

25. Try something new

No matter what you decide to do this month, make a little time just for you.

You are so important.

If you feel selfish for taking you time… your kids will benefit from your self care too! A happy mom or dad leads to happy kids.

You and your happiness matters.

What self care activity do you plan on doing this month? Any that you’d add to the list? Let me know in the comments.

5 Reasons Why You Should Sign Your Toddler Up For Dance.

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It’s almost dance season!

Studios are holding sign ups and preparing for another great year. If you’re wondering if you should sign your toddler up for dance or what it’s even like, you’ve found the right post.

Here’s why Mila and I LOVE dance class and why your toddler should join in too!

Friends and Socialization

One of the biggest reasons I signed Mila up for dance was for socialization.

Since she plays by herself most of the time, I knew she needed to make friends. Let me tell you, her socialization and friend group most definitely expanded.

One of her favorite parts of going to dance class was seeing her friends. She learned how to play better with other kids, take turns, and the basics of friendship. That’s a skill that she’ll always have to use.

Plus, as a dance mom, I got to meet so many different parents. I’m so glad to know them and their kids.

Learn About Body Movement

Toddlers are awkward.

They fall and stumble. Somehow they’re always getting back up and running again.

Dance helps toddlers and kids feel comfortable in their own body. It lets them understand how to move certain parts and their capabilities.

I think Mila’s coordination levels went up since starting dance. Plus, she learned how to move her body so fast! Her teachers did an amazing job helping her learn all the moves and to trust her body at such an early age.

Practice Listening to Other Adults

Since I’m almost a full time teacher, but a long time sub, I selfishly wanted Mila to learn how to listen to other adults.

When they go to dance class, they are made to listen and be instructed by someone that’s not their parent. It can be difficult for them, but it’s so rewarding in the long run.

I’m sure that Mila will listen and do so well in preschool because of her experience in dance class.

It might seem like a small skill, but it’s helped her be more independent and happy with other trusted adults. I’m excited to meet her new teacher this year and to have Mila listen and love another supportive adult.

Confidence

As an adult, I would never be able to get in stage and dance in front of a crowd. Yet, groups of toddlers, kids, and young adult dancers did at their recital last year.

It showed how confident they were in themselves.

Mila’s always been confident, but when she danced on stage, that confidence oozed out. It even helped her and her friends do their talent show.

As a mom of a little girl, I want her to project confidence through all aspects of her life. By being apart of dance, she gets to practice that at such a young age. That makes me a very proud dance mom.

They have FUN!

Photo by Teri Stein

The most important aspect of anything during the toddler stage is having fun.

Let me tell you, toddler dance classes are chaotic to watch. At the beginning they’re running around crazy, but they’re smiling and laughing. By the end of the year, they know what’s expected of them and are still having fun.

Maybe I’ll call it organized chaos.

BUT… when they’re having fun they want to come back and learn more. Mila and I have so many great memories from dance class and are excited for another year of them.

Dance welcomes boys, girls, and whoever wants to join. It’s such an inclusive space that I’d recommend to everyone.

Local friends, dance studios are opening up. We go to Legacy Dance Studio and have had nothing but positive experiences. Mila and I would love to see you there too!

Have you ever signed your toddler up for classes or sports? What did you love about them?

Explore Clary Gardens in Coshocton, Ohio.

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When it comes to local exploring, Mila and I are on a mission. Our latest go to place was the Clary Gardens in Coshocton, Ohio.

Located right by Roscoe Village, the gardens are a secret escape to play and learn for all.

There are so many aspects of the gardens that I love. Since I’m a planty person, seeing the different types of plants and flowers was magical. Believe me, everywhere you look is beautiful.

I’ve actually been planning on taking Mila here for a little while. On the Clary Gardens Facebook page, I saw them advertise their Story Walk and knew we had to go.

Mila is set anytime learning and being active is involved. So, we put our go-fasters on and went on our way.

Here were our favorite parts of the trip, besides the beauty of the gardens!

The Story Walk Trail

This isn’t a secret, the Story Walk was our favorite part of our visit!

Clary Gardens, the Coshocton Public Library, and The Frontier Power Company teamed up to make this walk happened. They plan to change out the story seasonally, so that means we’ll be going back!

This season’s story was Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae. It’s an adorable book about, you guessed it, a giraffe that can’t dance.

As you walk through the trail, you get to read more pages in the book.

Mila loved this and was searching for the page stands. Throughout the walk, I asked her to recap what happened from the pages before. She did amazing and was really engaged with the Story Walk!

The walk also lets you explore the gardens more. It gives you beautiful views of the property and a little walking trail that is safe for kids. Mila’s favorite parts of the trail was walking by the pond and going into the woods.

Mila taking the route less traveled.

This book choice was perfect for us too, since Mila loves to dance. She danced right with the different animals in the book.

It was a fun adventure through the gardens and I love seeing Mila’s love for reading expand. Spoiler alert, the giraffe dances at the end and Mila did a little celebration dance with him.

Check out the video at the end of this post.

The Octopus

Along the Story Walk was this big and beautiful, wooden octopus.

The octopus is all hand carved and hanging from a tree. He slightly sways if you touch him or the wind blows hard. This freaked Mila out a little, but she warmed right up to him.

I am completely amazed by all the details in the octopus. From the tentacle suckers to the big eyes, Mila and I both had a hard time walking away.

The size and detail reminded me of the wooden giants at the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Louisville. That was our last adventure before COVID. Except the giants were even bigger. It was still nice to be reminded of that memory.

When you go to Clary Gardens, definitely seek out the octopus.

Children’s Area

Since I’ve become a mom, finding a place where Mila can play is a must. Clary Gardens has a big area set aside just for this!

There’s different areas for kids to crawl through, climb on, and play. The sandbox was Mila’s favorite! Fortunately, there were buckets and shovels already provided for kids to use.

I personally appreciated the vegetable garden areas. Mila and I were looking to see if any had grown and trying to identify the leaves. Just another learning opportunity that we had to take.

The beautiful artwork at the side of the play area was so cute too.

After her time in the sandbox, Mila pointed out the colors and different things on the mural. She immediately ran up to the butterflies and pretended to be one.

This would be a perfect spot for a play date. You could picnic here (or any of the gazebos) while the kids played. The kids would have so many options to play and moms could get some shade and catch up.

Here’s a little compilation video of our visit. My favorite is Mila’s dance at the end.

The gardens offer even more too. Not only can you get married here or hold an event, it has a beautiful amphitheater too. There’s a few plays by Rogue Elephant Productions coming up in the near future that I need to go see.

If you’re local to Coshocton, plan out your visit to the Clary Gardens soon!

Have you ever been to the Clary Gardens? If not, do you have local gardens that are similar?