Memorial Day Activities and Favorite Recipes....

Our children are officially out of school and their summer vacation has begun.  I know, I know, Summer doesn't technically starts until June 20th. 

The last week of May doesn't only bring the end of the school year but it also brings a very important date to remember.  Memorial Day is a day of prayer for absolute and permanent peace.. 

While many of us will be firing up our grill, having pool parties with some fireworks or maybe you have plans to enjoy the weather by visiting your local beach.  

It is imperative that we explain to our children that Memorial Day it's an occasion to honor the men and women who have died serving our country. 

Did you know.....

"Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, a day to honor American Civil War dead.  Following World War I, Memorial Day became a day to honor soldiers killed in all war"...

Find memorial Day Lessons here: NEA: Memorial Day Lesson Ideas K-5th

My Favorite Activities....

Patriotic Wreath

This easy to make wreath can be used for Memorial Day, Independence Day and/or Fourth of July.  This craft will not break your bank when buying the required materials and it can be used year after year, saving you even more money.

However, I will warn you, it can be time consuming and if you choose to do a larger size wreath, you will most likely spend an entire afternoon wrapping the yard around the foam wreath.

 Memorial Day Crafts for Kids

by

Metroparent.com

Popsicle Stick Star Streamers

"Pom-Pom" American Flag Painting

My Favorite Recipes....

Strawberry Blueberry Limeade 

by 

The Taylor House. 

Check out her website to get this delicious recipe The Taylor House: Strawberry Blueberry Limeade Recipe.

Watermelon Stars with Strawberries and Blueberries

by

Amanda of Wit & Whistle

Baked Beans Cowboy Style

by

WickedGoodKitchen.com

How delicious!! Of course we all have our own special recipes our families love... you know the ones that have your kids lick their fingers!!  :)

Now, who can forget the special sales from clothing stores! After all we do have to get all of our swimwear ready for the beach!! 

We hope you have a safe and fabulous three day weekend!! 

DIY- Snow Globes

Hello Everyone!!! 

      The big day is almost here and my little ones at getting a little wrestles.  Due to unfavorable weather, they have not been able to go outside and play and boredom is starting to set in. 

      I know I have not posted any new hairstyles, but Ms. Bree's hair is still styled in two strand twists, but I will unravel all her twists on Sunday before we head out to Church.  

   Here is what her hair looks like now: 

      Now, I'm going to be sharing my friend Yari's idea!  This is a very easy and simple craft that all the kids will enjoy making.   Our scout elf, Snowflake brought the kids some snow globes as a gift, but because it has been raining heavily in the past couple days, she had no other choice but to use some of her magic to protect them.  Unfortunately, she had to disassemble them and the kids had to put them back together.  

    The Materials: 

• Mason Jar (I already had these jars, but you can buy them at any store)
• Glitter (1.99)
• Their favorite figurine (if you think they will notice the figurine belongs to them, you can buy small ones from the Dollar Store)
• Hot Glue Gun

    Directions:

(I did the following while the kids were asleep, after all, these were a gift from Snowflake)

1. Hot glue your child's favorite figurine onto the inside of the lid;
2. Let the glue cool;

     Below you can see Snowflake's special note to the kids  At the bottom of her note are the directions to complete the Snow Globe. 

        

1. Add the glitter to the empty jar;
2. Add water to the jar (all the way to the neck- but if your figurine is a bit in the large size, I suggest adding a bit less water.  You can always add some more later)
3. Carefully insert your inner lid with your special figurine
4. Seal tightly, flip, shake and enjoy your special Snow Globe.

      And your snow globe is all complete!  

      

DIY: Guitar

Hello Everyone!!  

We hope that every single one of you had an amazing Thanksgiving Day with the loved ones. 

After that tiny break, it is time for us to catch up on some of our latest creations.  Today, we will be talking about the DIY Guitar Ms Bree made with her Dad.  

This project was called "The Sound Rubric Project" and it was for her Music Class.  The requirements for the project were: 

1.  Instrument most be created by using items found in your home; 

2. Must create sound; 

3. Must be created and decorated by the student (with the help of a parent, only when needed); 

4. Student must be able to explain how the instrument was created; and 

5. Student must be able to demonstrate how the instrument creates sounds. 

At this point I have to say that I am glad she did not choose a "piano". (Thank the Lord for small miracles).  This school year seems to be full of projects.  Maybe the explanation lays on the fact that Little Man is now in 3rd Grade and Ms Bree is in 1st Grade.  Things seemed to be a lot easier last year. 

Okay, let's move on, shall we.  In order to comply with the first requirement on the list, we had to figure it out how to create a Guitar from things that we have a home.

Our materials: 

Body of the guitar...... empty shoe box (small /thin preferred)

Neck of the guitar...... empty Paper towel roll

Strings......................... Rubber Bands

Now, in order to raise the rubber bands we needed somethings that it was small in size and that could be easily glued.  Daddy found two pieces of wood in his toolbox that worked perfectly. 

Okay, so here are the Steps: 

1.  Draw and cut a circle on the front of the shoe box;

2.  Measure, draw and cut a circle on the top of the show box (this is where you will insert the paper towel roll);

3.  (this step is optional) Wrap the shoe box with wrapping papers.  

4.  Carefully with your finger feel where the cut out circles are and cut the wrapping the paper.   Do this for the front and top circles previously cut.

5.  Insert the  empty paper towel roll.  If you need the roll to be a little more secure, you can place a piece of tape around the top and/or inside the front circle.

6.  Glue the two pieces of wooden sticks on each end of the box.  

7.  Place rubber bands.  (we used the large rubber bands.) 

8.  And last but not least... the decoration part! As you can see, a girl can never have enough stickers! 

This is a very cute craft that can be done with the little ones at home.  Especially if you have a little one who loves music.   The fact that most of the items were found at home, make this project one of the most inexpensive ones we have made this year, so far.  

This DIY instrument will always be unique for them.  Something they created with their own two little hands. Ok, you helped out a little, but come on, we have to be realistic and imagine what will happen if you let your little one use "Gorilla Glue"... :)

And the results were?

Ms. Bree received 100% for her project!! I was proud of her, because she was able to present her project in front of the class, and her Daddy was so proud of her because she remembered how to properly played the "strings".   But most importantly, SHE was proud of herself.  She picked the decorations, she helped wrapped the box and the empty paper towel rolls and she watched Barbie Rock & Royals enough time to know how to play the guitar like a PRO!!

Okay, well, let's not  tell her she's not ready to perform live yet!!! hahaaa

DIY: Tomato Cage Christmas Trees

Hello Readers…

We hope that your Thanksgiving was as memorable and enjoyable as ours was.  Time spent around family while enjoying some deliciously prepared food is always good.  But, with Thanksgiving gone, it’s time to prepare for Christmas.  If you thought Halloween was a big production in the Cunningham household, wait until you see what Christmas is like in our home!

This year is our son’s turn to pick the colors of the decorations of the Christmas tree and he did so, almost a month ago: Green, Red & Gold.  I love the idea of letting the kids pick the colors of the decorations, it allows them to be as involved in the process and it builds their confidence in the “decision making” process as well.   

If you follow our Facebook Fan Page, than you already know that I started my DIY Christmas decorations as far back as Halloween.  My good friend, Kara, is obsessed with Pinterest, and thanks to her, I have now joined that club! I know, the HORROR right!!! J

Kara found several projects but I fell in love with the idea of making my own Christmas Tree to decorate my entryway.  I have always wanted one (or two) but every time I saw the tag price of $79+, my wants became “no wants”… J  I’m sure you can relate to the whole “for how much?? 

Nope, it can stay right where it is!”

This can be used for indoors or outdoors and you will not believe how inexpensive and how easy are to make. 

Materials needed:

Wire Round Tomato Cage…………...…… $2.58 Lowe’s;

Zip Tie…………………………………………….. FREE- courtesy of Husband’s tool box;

Gold Star……………………………………….... $1.00- Dollar Tree Store

17 Garland…………………………………...…. $17.00- Dollar Tree Store

White Lights………………………………....… FREE- I used some of the lights I already owned

    TOTAL SPENT:                               $20.58

My entry way is not as large and open, so I only made one.  I simply decorated my tree using gold/ivory ribbon that I purchased at the Dollar General Store are well, increasing my total spent to $23.58.  Not bad at all if you compare it to the high prices you see at the store.

I used the 42” Galvanized Steel Wire Round Tomato Cage:  

This cage is not the tallest Lowe’s carries, there are several sizes you can choose from (33” to 54”).  If you cannot find the sizes you need to decorate your porch, you may want to consider placing the tomato cage on top of some nice heavy pots/planters.  Pots not heavy enough? No biggie, simply add dirt, sand or even rocks to make the pots/planters heavier.  You can make your pots/planters unique by adding a nice decorative ribbon around it.   Your options are limitless.

HELPFUL NOTE:  If you are using pots/planters follow these steps first:

1.       Make sure you add the dirt/sand/rocks first

2.      Place the tomato cage on top;

3.      If the tomato cage is too wide for your pot, you can cut the bottom wire and squeeze the cage into your pot.

STEP 1

Bringing the ends together and secure them by using the Zip Tie. Make sure it is as tight as possible. 

STEP 2:

Carefully unfold the garland;

Note: Amount of garland needed depends on the size of your tomato cage.  I compared the garland from the different Family Dollar, Dollar General and Dollar Tree Stores.  To my surprise, the best garland I found was at the Dollar Tree Store!  It’s was undeniably firmer than the rest, which will give you the necessary steadiness and fullness you are looking for.  

Start wrapping the garland around the cage;

HELPFUL NOTE:  It is easier to start from BOTTOM TO TOP, although I started from the TOP, let me explain why this was a problem for me:

1.       Every time I wrapped the top kept coming lose;

2.      I tried placing the star on the top hoping it would keep the garland in place but it simply refused to stay in place.

3.      I tried wrapping the garland around a bit tighter, but it kept coming lose at the top.  So I had to start over many, many times…

      Therefore, I highly suggest you start at the bottom, trust me, I’m saving you time but most importantly YOUR SANITY! J

Continue to wrap, wrap and continue to wrap the garland until the entire cage is fully covered.

STEP 3:

Carefully add the lights;

I used two sets of white lights, each set contained approximately 30 lights.

AND HERE IT IS!

Pretty neat!! 

Overall this was a very easy project and can't forget the amount of money I saved!!  

Thanks for ready and stay tuned for the next project!!!