Tacky Tack Jar (3 hours of me time!)

This took off way better than I could have ever hoped!

This project gave me THREE hours of free time!

It is a tacky jar used to hold thumb tacks.

What you need: 

1. Jar
2. Leftover artsy things (beads, buttons, stickers, foams pieces, candy wrappers)
3. Double-sided tape

What you do:

1. Wrap tape around the top of the jar.
2. Cut the tape so the ends meet.
3. Continue until you get to the bottom ring.
4. Peel off outer layer of tape.
5. Hand the child the jar and artsy things.
6. Show him/her how to stick artsy things to the jar.
7. Walk away slowly and calmly, not like you are about to have 3 hours of free time. They can sense it.

For those of you wondering what to do during three hours of free time, here are some ideas:

Make coffee and drink coffee.

Sit down. Maybe watch a TV show or a movie.

Eat a meal, or a dessert.... or half of a cheesecake. 

Organize a book shelf or junk drawer.

Do some online shopping.

Talk to a friend.

Spiral Snake Cutting

I love activities that teach something. Sebastian (age 3) loves cutting and Genevieve (age 2) loves trying. For this one, I showed them how to do it. They ran through the house with them like dancing ribbons.

 This activity is beyond easy.

What you need: 

1. paper (I used scrap book paper)
2. Markers 
3. Scissors

What to do:

1. Draw a spiral on a piece of paper, starting at the center of the paper.
2. Cut along the line. Cut off excess paper, do not include corners of paper on your snake.
3. Draw a snake face.

So cute! Oh, and the snakes are too.

Homemade Coconut-Almond Larabar Balls

Larabars are loved for their excellent flavors, natural ingredients, and lack of allergen foods like wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, and gluten. They can be expensive to buy and even expensive to make homemade, but Costco sells pitted dates and almonds for much cheaper than your smaller grocery stores which makes homemade Larabar balls very affordable, and I think that makes everything tastes better

What you need:

1.  1 cup Baker's sweetened coconut , 
2. 1/2 cup pitted dates, and
3.  1/2 cup sliced almonds. 

What you do: 

1. Put all ingredients into processor until blended. TIP: scrape the sides in between blending and tilt food processor if it sticks to sides too often.
2. Roll into balls.

                                                                        Do a hilarious stand up comedy routine while it blends.

and then again.

Take the blade out and the kids can roll the balls straight from the processor container.

            Explain the secret master technique for the perfect rolled cookie balls and watch your pupils shine.

                                  

Even when they were all made and he was chowing down on his 4th cookie ball, he was still practicing the special rolling technique, well I guess it's not a secret anymore.

Hi there!

I am a stay at home mom who learned that crafts and activities are what keep my toddlers from being on the next exorcist home movie. Bathroom breaks, sitting down, or talking on the phone have become favorite search and destroy moments for my little angels of darkness. When their fear of boredom became stronger than their fear of punishment, I knew I had to find a solution.

Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish Philosopher said, "Boredom is the root of all evil - the despairing refusal to be oneself."

Voltaire, my favorite author, said, "Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need."

Psychology Today even says that boredom can make you die earlier! 

So here begins my journey of inspiring toddlers and saving thousands on future therapy appointments and prescriptions.