Combine Cake

My husband comes from a large Iowa farming family.  At times it can seem to be all John Deere green and farm toys.  Our son's fascination with farm implements began with some tractors in his "big trucks" book, but no matter what, he always called them "bombines".  For Christmas this year, we finally bought him a little toy combine and it worked perfectly as an inspiration for his 2 year old birthday cake.  May you have another bountiful year bud-boo!

How to collect FREE items for OCC shoeboxes

For me, shoebox season doesn't start in November..it's a year round project.  I start collecting items to fill our boxes pretty much the moment I leave our local collection site.  You will be surprised at how many items you can get for free throughout the year if you just keep your eyes open.  I have a large tote in the basement that I use to keep all the items as I get them, and as you can see it's only March, but I've got quite a collection going already (right).  Not everything in the tote was free, since I also collect clearance items as I see them, but that's a different post for another day.

Below is a list of just a few places we've found some free stuffers...

Fairs and Expos
Local county fair, garden expo, bridal fair, home shows...these are all great places to get free stuff. Items we've collected include: drawstring backpacks, cloth bags, pencils, notepads, balloons, plastic cups, small balls, frizbees, lanyards, coloring books, crayons, stickers,...

Parades
I don't know about you, but sometimes parades can be a bit overwhelming.  Like a dress rehearsal for Halloween, the kids come home with bags overflowing with candy and other "treasures".  After parades, I secretly sort through our giant collection of candy and pull out whatever might be shoebox worthy (suckers, smarties,...) of course not all of them, but you can thin down the mix.  Other free items we've collected at parades include: toothbrushes, small frisbees, plastic cups, necklaces,...

Menards
Check your local Menards flyer for items that are free after mail-in rebate.  You do have the cost of a stamp, but if you use your rebates to buy more "free after rebate" items the next trip, you can really snowball your investment.  I've picked up flip flops, coffee mugs, and t-shirts for our shoeboxes this way.

Harbor Freight Tools
Keep an eye out for free item coupons in your local shopper, newspaper, and magazines.  Or sign up to receive their coupon booklets.  Items that are often free include flashlights, screwdriver sets, and other tools.  Just watch the fine print.  Some coupons are free without purchase.  Others require a purchase or even a minimum purchase of $9.99.

Hotels
We don't travel very often, but even if you don't, you probably know people who do.  Gather up the bars of soap and pack them away in your suitcase.  Housekeeping will replace them when they clean your room, so you can get new ones each day of your stay.  These bars are small so I usually place several together in a snack size ziplock bag for each shoebox I pack.

Regift
In our affluent culture, and very generous families, we are overflowing with gifts at times. Like overwhelmingly overflowing at times. Why not give these items to others who could use them much more than we could?  Luckily, my children are still toddlers so I can filter through which items actually get opened after big events like Christmas and birthdays.  But even for myself, I probably only keep about half of what I receive as gifts, because I'm constantly trying to eliminate clutter.  We've regifted in our shoeboxes things like aprons, holiday kitchen towels, clothing, socks, costume jewelry, puzzles or games, stuffed animals, hooded towels,...

If it fits in a shoebox and you don't need it, why not regift it?  Not only does is avoid the possibility of accidentally regifting into the same circle of friends or family, if you're like me, you probably prefer to go out and pick something specifically for that person anyway.

OCC Shoeboxes - Boys 10 to12

Just last night I was reading a blog post from a lady who had helped at a shoebox distribution center.  In her experience there was an extreme shortage of boxes for boys ages 10 to 12.  I can see how this would be the case since younger children are often easier to shop for, and most of the parents heading up the shoebox packing are probably the moms...so we naturally will gravitate toward the gender we more easily connect with or understand.

In our home we have each of the kids pack a shoebox for a child who is in their age and gender bracket.  I pack two, for my husband and I, one for a 10-12 year old girl, and another for a 10-12 year old boy.  However, it wasn't until this past year that I actually put a lot of thought into my "boy" boxes, and thanks to pintrest I now have a list of GREAT ideas for this upcoming collection week.

Here are some ideas specifically for older boys to enjoy...

The Intellectual
Calculator, compass, protractor, ruler, brain games and puzzles, mazes, rubix cube, travel size chess/checkers,...

Many years ago I read a testimonial of a boy who had received a calculator in his shoebox and because of that gift was able to take the exams necessary to continue his education to a higher level.  Something so simple that we take for granted can open the door of opportunity for continuing education for a child in another country.  Ever since, I have always included calculators in my shoeboxes for 10-12 year old boys and girls.

The Handy Man
Tape measure, screwdrivers, wrenches, contractors pencil, square, cable ties, fasteners (I would assume nuts and bolts would be ok to include...not sure about nails and screws), small hammer, sharpie marker, level, wire, duct tape or electrical tape,...I've even seen where they used a small toolbox for the shoebox itself.

Give a young person the tools (literally) to learn a trade that may become a source of income for their family.  At very least they will have the opportunity to tinker and build with their own hands, something I think every boy enjoys.

Find out how to get some of these items for FREE here!

The Outdoorsman
Compass, fishing tackle kit, flashlight, magnifying glass/binoculars, durable gloves, hand spade, sunglasses, rope, compact hammock,...

The Athlete
Drawstring backpack, deflated soccer ball or basketball, air pump, stopwatch, whistle, sweatbands, ace bandage,...

Free Printable Worksheets

These are some of my favorite sites for getting free printables.  Of course I'll update and add more as I come across them, but these I have found to be great starting places, and hope you do too!

Planning Playtime
Twisty Noodle

Loopy Love Crochet Hats

I have been on a crochet baby hat marathon over the last couple months.  I ran across this pattern on Pinterest and it is so simple, and quick.  I can usually finish a baby size hat in a couple hours.

I first started making baby hats for our soon-to-be son or daughter, then matching ones from my older kids as a gift for when the baby comes. Since we aren't finding out the gender I had to make one of each color...just in case.  It then expanded to making hats for several friends who are having babies, a couple of Christmas gifts, and...well, you get the picture.  

You can get the full pattern and directions from Moogly.  I modified the pattern just slightly,  the two things I did differently were:

1)  Instead of doing only three chains in Round 2.  I just skipped the second step and went directly from 6 sc in the magic ring to six loops (which is what you have at the end of round 3) by doing one [sc, ch 3, dc] in each of the original 6 stitches.  I found this to make the top of the hat lay flatter.  I followed the directions for my blue hat and made the improvisation in the pink hat.  The blue hat seems to have more of a "bump" of bulk at the start.

2)  The second change I made was that I didn't change my hook size for the brim.  I just used the same hook the whole way...makes the hat less of a beanie and more straight through the end. On some of the hats I left the brim off completely and just ended with a scalloped edge (below).  

Happy Stitching!  

Let me know how it goes...

Preschool - November Week 2 - D, diamond, color matching

Core:

Letter "D" (p.*)

Shape "diamond"

Color matching

Activities:

Dinosaur Popsicle Stick Puzzle(s)

Letter "D" File Folder Matching Game (below)

Song:

Ten Little Ducks - Fisher Price Little People Counting Song (we have the DVD)

Printables:
Missing Letter "d" - to simplify for children who cannot yet write.  Pre-make small paper squares with the letter "d" written on them, and have children place the squares in each blank.

Letter "D" File Folder Game

To play this game, print graphics and words that start with various letters, some with the letter "d".  Have the child place a marble on each of the pictures that starts with the correct letter.

Color Matching 

To make our color matching sheets reusable (and more like a game) I laminated them back to back like a placemat.  Now they can either use a washable marker to circle the correct color again and again, or a token (such as a marker) to place on the correct colored square.  This page was taken from a book about colors I purchased at the Dollar Tree.  See THIS POST for more information.

*all page numbers are taken from "My Big Preschool Workbook" published by School Zone.  Find it HERE.

Follow my 3 Year Old Preschool Pintrest Board for week-by-week ideas!

Home Tour - Bunk Bed Room

Welcome to the Bunk Bed Room!

First up in our home tour is the bunk bed room.  Vague title I know, but since both of our children sleep in this room from time to time, it isn't really the sole property of our son or daughter, although it is our son's primary resting place.  It also doubles as a play room since we have not other official space to put the toys. 

A few features of this room include: a misc. frame collage that I made by painting mis-match frames I picked up at Goodwill and garage sales; an IKEA organizer, and a Target clearance rug.  The dresser (below left) was a $20 craigslist.com find that I spray painted and updated with new nobs.  It's amazing what I coat of paint can do.  Surprises me almost every time.  The bookshelf wall (below right) is my pride and joy.  It was over a year in the waiting, until I finally bought some wood and got to work this summer.  It is one of the first woodworking projects I have done completely from scratch and I'm so happy with how they turned out.  This little nook  between the door and the closet was otherwise wasted space, with the floor vent below we couldn't really put anything there.  This makes corralling the books a little easier and the lower shelves are easy for my toddlers to reach and put the books away by themselves.

  

       

Off the one side of the bunk bedroom is a little sitting room.  At one point it appears to have been a very tiny room of it's own.  When we first moved in, we used it as a small play room, but I found toys were being dragged out into the larger space so we converted it into an honorary "nursery".  My son's crib was in here until he eventually graduated to a toddler bed, and now the bottom bunk (which he calls "top").  We've left the crib up in case of visitors and to be ready when we have our new baby in March.  

Love the animal print blanket and valence?  The "theme" of this room was originally elephants.  As we've transitioned over time it's more and more difficult to tell, but you can get this fabric HERE.  It's called Zoology by Michael Miller.  It comes in a variety of color schemes, but I chose "sea" because it's so gender neutral. Use left over pieces of fabric to fill the frames in the collage. Take a closer look in the upper right below!