Pinterest Inspired

I'm obsessed.  Pinning during feedings and pumping, while going on walks (Anna in the sling, Reagan in the stroller--it's a rare moment when I have a free hand...ha!), during naps, and after bedtime.  It's made me want to clean, decorate, photograph, and craft.  Here's a sampling of the Pinterest inspired ideas we've tried at home.  I've done a few projects with my school babies as well, but don't seem to chronicle it with photographs like I do with my kiddos at home. 


Fine Motor Skill Practice

Reagan loves pipe cleaners and as long as I'm near to play with her, I think there is nothing wrong with her playing with them.  We used a colander and put the pipe cleaners through and she'd pull them out and we'd repeat the process.  To keep a toddler entertained, it takes a lot.  She seemed to really enjoy this!  I would try to get her to sort them by color after she removed them, but that was a little advanced right now.  We'll build on this activity in the future.




Father's Day Crafts
 Brent made his daddy the cutest saw card.  Since my husband comes from a sawmill family, we felt the saw was very appropriate!  David really liked it.




We had to include the babies too, so I had an extra canvas left over from the 2 pack I bought we Reagan made my mom's mother's day gift.  With a little finger paint and mod podge, we made a gift from all three of his sweet kiddos for his office.





Mom's Day
Being two years pregnant and thinking I would have a newborn on Mother's Day, I almost forgot my mom.  Truthfully, I was hoping to get a picture of all the grandbabies for her, but since Anna had her own ideas about when she was to arrive, I ended up making a footprint canvas from Reagan for my mom.  Grandma loved it.



Finger Painting
We've tried several different times at finger painting, and surprisingly Brent really enjoys it still at 7. We did store bought paints in ziplock baggies.  It made for no bathtime afterwards which was a plus.  However it didn't hold Reagan's attention very long at all.  Brent wants to do it all the time though.  Which is kinda nice since he can gather the materials and do it himself. 

Yesterday we made our own finger paints.  With 4.5 cups of boiling water, 1 cup of cold water, and 2 cups of corn starch + a little food coloring we had our own unique goopy finger paint.  Brent really enjoyed making his own colors, and the coloring we bought at Target had a variety of colors you could make on the back of the package.  His favorite was chocolate moose.  It looked just like pudding.  Reagan loved the texture of the paint and making the paints look different by using a fork to paint.  The paint is thick so we had to let it dry overnight, but it drys to create a really neat 3-d effect.  Brent and I decided we may use it to create a landform map of his granddad's house since he has lots of ponds, it would be "more interesting" than just our street! 



Gifts
Pinterest has really cute ideas for gifts.  Teacher Appreciation week was my first week of maternity leave, and I had no baby, so I actually got to see Reagan's teachers to give them their little token of our appreciation.  After being home with two babies, I have a new found appreciation for daycare teachers.  They make kindergarten look easy!  It also gave me a little time to prepare some ideas for Reagan's last day party, though I did have a baby by then to bring to celebrate summer with the toddlers. 


Now...
I'm currently working on a project I'm super excited about.  Hopefully it will turn out as anticipated.  This isn't a project with the kids, so I have to work on it in the little spare time I have.  Since it is a surprise, I'll have to post pictures later!  The babies are both sleeping (miracle!), so I'm going to attempt to work on it now.  I'm sure I need to be cleaning, but crafting is so much more fun!