Summer Happenings {Berry Picking}

I love summer! Around our parts, it is very short, hot and humid. But those days we savor every minute and try not to complain about the heat. We go berry picking every year. Starting with strawberries, then raspberries and blueberries. They are in abundance in upstate New York, which we absolutely love. This year strawberries weren't very good considering all the rain but we are looking forward to canning some raspberry jam and eating tons of blueberries. 

We went later in the morning which turned into a muggy and hot afternoon. It wasn't all that popular with kids who wanted to get outta there asap. But nevertheless, they had fun. It's so sweet watching them discover things. Abbie was so excited finding all the ripe blueberries and caught on very quick that only blue ones are yummy. She wasn't a fan of raspberry picking because leaves a bit prickly. Jonathan was a great sport, while I was carrying Abbie around, he picked quite a few berries on his own. I was so very proud of him! 

Although I am very goal oriented person, I try to relax and enjoy kids and see it for what it's worth. Of course, we didn't pick many berries but we enjoyed our time together and the kids learned too a few things too. Hope you get to enjoy some fresh picked berries this summer too!

Toddler Activity {Making Rain}

Hello there! Having two children at home all the time, gets them a little bored. This passed winter was so long and cold that we were looking for ideas on how to stay busy and not to loose our minds. My son Jonathan is 4 years old and loves all hands on activities. He loves cooking with me, mixing things and see what comes out. On a particularly rainy and cold day, I was looking for something to keep him occupied and found this cute idea on Pinterest, Honestly, I can't even find the link of the original blog post. But whoever you are, I give you credit for being so creative and finding a way to use common household things for such a fun experiment, We learning about rain and how it works because I'm sure God does have fun when it rains. So, I hope you enjoy making this fun experiment with your little ones over and over again, because we sure do. 

Things You Need
- Shaving Cream
- Large Glass Vase/Jar
- Colored Water
- Ramekins
- Syringe

How To

Pour water into a clear glass jar and leave room on top for shaving cream, about 3 inches. Mix colors of your choice with water and make sure it's really concentrated. It will become much  more pale when mixed with shaving cream and more water. Fill the rest of the vase/jar with shaving cream and set it up on a table. Fill the syringe with color of your choice and sprinkle all over the top of the shaving cream. Do not put it all in one spot, you will end up with cloudy mess instead of pretty drops. Keep going alternating colors and watch the colored water fall to the bottom of the vase/jar. After a while Jonathan got bored of the 'right' way of doing it and made cloudy with spraying syringe directly into one spot. After a while water was dark and cloudy and we started all over again. Enjoy! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Books We Are Reading Right Now

Jonathan LOVES to read. He reads first things in the morning, then all throughout the day, while I'm doing chores and before bed time. We don't have a bed time routine with book reading but we sure do enough of it during the day. Sometimes I wonder why it's so quiet in the house as he sits on the couch and reads a book all by himself. It makes my heart melt and I'm so glad he is developing this habit so early on. Here are a few of our favorite right now and if you are looking for cheaper prices, Amazon is the best with delivery time (if you have Prime) and price point.

Good Night Moon
This book has elements of unexpected and still carries a lot of meaning. Also, it's a classic. Jonathan loves reading about the moon and talks how characters do the same nightly ritual as he does before going to sleep. It's super adorable.

Thomas (Magnetic Book)
Let's just say Jonathan is obsessed with all things trains (especially Thomas). I bought this book before leaving for our trip down south and he loved playing with it on the way back. Unfortunately the magnets get lost easily so beware.

Blame It On The Big Blue Panda
He knows exactly what's going on in this book and it's a book with awesome moral. He asks me to read it over and over again. It has large drawings and big enough to entertain him for a while.

Llama Llama Red Pajama
This has to be my favorite children's book in English (I love my old Russian favorites more). It has a cute rhyme and very easy to read. Jonathan requests it a lot and helps me long as he scolds the crying little baby llama. It's hilarious!

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
This book is so sweet! I love reading and tickling him, plus it's great for educating kids about how different our world is. Every time I read it I'm ready to tear up because it's just so heart warming and adorable.

The Little Engine That Could
This is Jonathan's favorite book. He brings it over to bed first thing in the morning and we read it together. Then he asks to read it again after breakfast, and after nap, and after dinner. I practically have it memorized and sometimes get annoyed by how many times he wants to read it. But I love that he is developing a love for books so early on and have to remind myself that it's a million times better than TV.

Have a great weekend!  

Ideas for Indoor & Outdoor Toddler Activities

Winter is long and brutal around these parts of the world. Most of the time we are indoors because it's either too cold or we are stricken with another disease. Although there were times when we actually ventured out and left a few footprints on the snow. It's fun and tiring at the same time. When we are indoors we try to stay busy with different kinds of activities but I wouldn't say we are extremely creative. Most of the time new and unusual things will keep Jonathan occupied for a long time. For example a 3 foot Styrofoam bendable cable that daddy had left over from one of the projects is a substitute for a stick - it's soft and safe, he can fall and play with it as he wants.

Her are some other ideas

Indoor

Build a Fort: kids love nothing more than small spaces they can crawl in and out of. They love forts and those aren't hard to make. Just grab couple chairs and old blankets and make a fun day of play inside

Finger Paint

This might involve a little more work and a lot more supervision but kids love it. Finger paint is cheap and can be purchased at Dollar Store or any craft store. They love to get their hands dirty and making a colorful splash on paper will be beyond exciting

Jump Over Mountain

Jonathan is constantly building huge piles out of pillows and blankets on the bed or on the floor. He loves jumping on them and because it is soft, it's quite safe. Just make sure to supervise if it's on the bed because they loose orientation quickly and can fall right off.

Balloons: every kid (and adult) loves playing with balloons. They are a cheap and fun entertainment that won't annoy you for long and you can be sure will keep the kids occupied. Grab different colored balloons and blow them up to fill a whole room. Play to your heart's content and then pop them when you are done. 

Outdoor

Sledding: grab some sleds and make snow tracks. Although the temperatures may be freezing the kids won't be cold because they are constantly moving and enjoying it. Plus they will sleep so much better after getting some fresh air

Ice Skating: grab some skates and drag that kid on the ice. Chances are, he/she will like it. It is tiring and physically exhausting activity for both parents and kids so there won't be any fighting about bed time.

Walking: bundle up and take a walk. It seems like a lot of work because you have to put on a million layers first on your child than on your self but they will enjoy a change of scenery

Visit the Library: most public libraries have a children't section. It's free and it's fun, with new books and pals to play. What could be better? 

Hardware Store Lessons: most hardware stores offer Saturday morning classes for toddlers and up in which they have many hands on activities. It's free and all you have to do is sign up.

How do you battle winter boredom? What's your trick to keeping toddlers occupied? 

Thank you for stopping by

xo, Anna 

xo, Anna