Oh The Craft Cupboard NEEDS Organized and Make Your Own Puzzle, House Picture, Highlights Fun, Jell-o Cubes

So now that you have already read my title and you still clicked into this post beware! No really, I've just not gotten to posting a few things so I crammed them all together. Are you ready?

Here is the craft cupboard. I can't believe I'm sharing my disorganization. I am used to be an organized person. Then a tornado of two under two hit and now I'm at two - three and under and it only gets busier. My excuse for the craft cupboard mess is the fact that I have to throw it in QUICK before grabby little hands start digging everything out (and it all collapses onto tiny and my mommy toes).

Exhibit A & Before:

One set of little grabby hands (In her adorable jammies may I add)

After:

NOT an Improvement

You see Oscar there? He sure is appropriate for dead center in this photo. What a horrible organizational system eh? Well, I grabbed some old bags and started neatly quickly and not so gently throwing stuff into the cupboard while the girls were getting into stuff that I just so happened to set in their path. You know, stuff they think they are getting away with playing with. Anyway, please help! Any ideas will make me a happy camper. Please share any websites or ideas. I need the kick in the pants.

Now onto some fun stuff! 

Make Your Own Puzzle

I didn't really know what else to call this, but it was fun! We grabbed some near by toys and put them in a container after tracing each object. Lorelei had a sheet to trace things and I had a sheet to trace some stuff. After tracing it goes into the box so we could find it easily. When everything was done Lorelei got to grab the objects out and find their appropriate spots. She really liked this. Mostly because she traced them herself, found the objects herself and got to finish off the puzzle all by herself. Do you see a pattern? Lorelei loves being "the boss." So any project where she gets to lead is just perfect. Plus the ownership and pride is excellent. It was way too easy for her, but the tracing was good practice. I definitely suggest this easy project/game!

House Picture

The first step was to simply cut out the shapes. I cut out different things for her and let her decide where she wanted them. She chose the colors of the stuff and what I should cut out mind you. (I'm sure she will make a good boss some day.)

We added in some people last minute and she took the project very seriously!

The end product. It's quite good if I do say so myself. Honestly though I was quite surprised with how well she lined everything up. I'm not sure why the guys were crooked, but I'm sure she didn't want it to cover her house up. Another fun and easy project kids love! I definitely suggest this as well. After all you only need a glue stick, scissors, paper and imagination! (Was that last one cheesy?)

High Five for Highlights

We have quite a few of the Highlights magazines lying around the house so we took the one from April and I let her cut out whatever she wanted. Lorelei's face lit up with joy when she heard she could actually cut into a magazine! My idea was to make a collage out of it, but she really wanted to cut out big stuff and glue the single picture onto one single piece of construction paper. She was thrilled though and that is what counts. Plus I loved watching her enjoy herself and seeing how well she is getting along with those scissors!

Above is a game we found in one of the magazines. She liked it for a bit, but it didn't last long. She was super excited about "flipping" the penny though. She didn't have a whole lot of patience for the game. Maybe when she is older?

Jell-O Cubes

So I am calling this one Jello-O Cubes out of humor. There was a tip in a tiny little book my mother gave me that if you put the powder from the jell-o into a dish or pan with an ice cube that the kiddos can swirl the ice cube around to watch it make designs in the powder. I thought it sounded wonderful because Hannah would love it too!

Lorelei dipping her fingers in after dumping the jell-o powder.

...and the joy of being able to eat part of her project!

...getting ready to drop in the ice cubes! Any guesses on what might happen to the ice cube when it gets dropped in and swirled around?

Here we go..the cubes are in and they...

turn into Jell-O cubes. Yep, that's it.Yummy Jell-O cubes for the kids to goo on and suck on and stain little fingers with. Me, I was disappointed it didn't work out. The girls were more than SUPER excited about it. They were playing in it and licking it. After a little gooey fun we took a little break from the cubes so we could wait and see what they turned into.

This is what's on my fridge right now. Lorelei traced her hands and my hand which she loved and made a lot of construction paper pages into hand traced pictures. Then I made her name and let her trace it. She really just wanted to circle them. Fun stuff eh? 

And now the moment...what does it look like after (maybe) an hour? Please enjoy the next few photos word free as you have been a champ reading through this long, LONG post.

So there it is. An unorganized cupboard, make your own puzzle, a house picture and some yummy Jell-O cubes. I hope you enjoyed my lengthy post! Truth is I'm hoping at least one person sits through it.

Thanks again! Please share comments if you'd like!

Picture Perfect: A Family Reunion

Lorelei is rubbing her hair around and making a mess of it to get her little sister to smile for the camera. (Picture by, My husband)

Hannah showing off her beautiful sunglasses. (Picture by, My Husband)

Hannah and Lorelei in the middle with their cousin. (Picture by, My Husband)

Me and the girls walking down the pier to see our family as they watched the Poker Run. (Picture by my sister-in-law. Thank you.)

Relaxing with Hannah on a beach towel taking a view of family playing on the lake. (Picture by, the girls great Aunt. Thank you.)

Lorelei with her older cousin whom she loves more than anything. (Lorelei is snacking on raisin bread.) (Picture by, Nicole)

Hannah playing in the girls toy house and trying to steal my lens cap. I think she's had enough of the picture taking if you ask me. (Picture by, Nicole)

Let's Talk: Kids and Technology

My generation I'm sure has heard a lot of jokes growing up about how we knew more about computers than our parents did. I'm sure some of us are still hearing the same old jokes, but now it's moved onto the next generation. My kids generation.

My mother came over today to play with the girls. We were having a great time playing with blocks and other games when I thought to show my mother pictures. Now I'm not sure how everyone else does it, but I'm sure a large portion of us mostly have their pictures on file instead of in albums. I edit the pictures and almost never print them. There doesn't really seem to be many reasons to print them these days.

The cycle is 1) Take way more pictures than necessary 2) Have way too many pictures to edit in a timely fashion 3) e-mail, Facebook, blog etc. When no. 3 comes, there are a few exceptions like my parents who do not do anything online. They have a computer mind you, but wouldn't know how to navigate Facebook if it meant their life.

Now, back on point. It came picture time at my house and I had to use the restroom. Between my mother and daughter who do you think I put in charge of showing pictures? My three year old daughter. She jumped up there and started navigating her way through pictures like nothing else mattered.

My mother almost in shock watched as I excused myself to the restroom. The shift has changed. It's not only my three year old out lapping my mother with technology know-how, but me. Between the many v-tech systems the girl has, navigating pictures on our desk top and even using my iPod she just about has me beat. It takes me longer to figure something out than her.

I was always picked on as a kid because I grew up in the calculator generation. Using it for tests instead of long hand. Using spell check and having the thesaurus at my fingertips made me lazy, but I do believe my kids technology will benefit them in the long run. The technology now teaches kids instead of doing it for them. Sure, the spell check and the calculator do still exist and are there to help them when they became of age, but v-tech teaches them to see things, think, understand, explore.

Here's a bit from CBS News' website:

(CBS) Teens aren't the only ones who need limits on media use. Pediatricians and researchers warn that parents need to set strict guidelines about how much time their younger children spend using televisions and computers — even if the programs are educational. And they say toddlers and screens shouldn't mix at all.

After a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics linked television watching by toddlers between 1 and 3 with subsequent attention problems including ADD, the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that children under 3 should not spend any time at all in front a computer or television. For those 3 and up, they suggest no more than two hours of screen time per day for non-homework activities, even if it's educational.

I am all for technology, but in moderation just as a good piece of chocolate or sucker needs to be monitored and controlled in the amounts of intake. The occasional sucker is fun and puts a cute little smile on their face, but suckers all day will rot their teeth and leave them plump and tired just the same as too much technology will leave them lazy, mentally exhausted and plump from lack of exercise let alone missing out on what life has to offer.