Favorite Blog Spotlight

I found some amazing blogs recently and some that i will be adding to my blog reading list this weekend.  I love getting updates from these blogs, in particular this one:

eighteen25

This is a MUST check out blog!  Seriously, i have used so many ideas from these three fab sisters that it is just too good not to share.  

Looking for amazing printables for birthday greetings, teacher/coach appreciation and party favor tags...you name it, they have it!  

Here are some of my favorites:


Thanks A Latte

Planning a Disney trip or theme.

What 10 year old would not want to bring this to school on their birthday
They were so sweet that they changed the font for me to "4" so i could use it for my daughters 4th birthday. 

Check out all of their party ideas

There is so much more.  You need to check this blog out.  What i love is that they share all the printables and instructions.  

Every week i will be spotlighting a blog.  If you visit them, please leave a comment that tortoiseoverhare sent you over.

Getting back to the swing of things

Lately i have not been feeling up for writing...i am sort of in a rut in writing and exercising (which i usually love to do).  Perhaps it has been the chaos of planning a few April gatherings we hosted, the crappy weather we have been having and a little bit of communication problems going on with my mom and I (My mom was not speaking with me for a week).

I am coming up with a whole new concept for my blog.  I need a redesign, and a new fresh new concept to get the ball rolling.  Will be sharing this soon, but for now i am just trying to get back into the swing of things.

Here are a few things i have seen recently online that have been inspirational or important reads for me. I wanted to share here in case you did not happen upon them yourselves already.

Less is more

The gift of an ordinary day

Need sleep advice for your baby?  Here is a quick summary of all the books out there

I have also found some new blogs that i am loving.  Will be sharing these with you tomorrow.

I love me some 'mom' jeans...

So i have been on the lookout for some light weight skinny jeans to wear this spring/summer.   I used to be drawn to The Gap  because you can get jeans at an affordable price (it seems like they have sales all the time- i am always getting email notifications about sales and promotion deals in the mail).
I do have some reservation about spending my money on Gap jeans though.  I find that they stretch out way too much, even when you get them super tight. They lose their shape fast, and i find i am constantly needing to buy new pairs due to it stretching out too much...to the point of no return.  Not even a blast of heat from the dryer shrinks them back down. 

I found this review from another blogger, and i really do think she is on to something about Gap.  Maybe i will post some comparison jean shots as i have a few over stretched Gap jeans i can compare to some newer purchases.
An Inconvenient Gap of Truth

Ok, so back to my skinny jean search.  I did have one odd requirement for my skinny jean.  It had to be high waisted!  AKA the 'Mom' jeans.  I wanted the waist of the jeans really high so that i could bend down and sit down without wearing a belt and there would be enough jean to not show anything underneath.

Hmmmm...where do i find these high waisted jeans?  There is a fine line between the look i want and the look i do not want.  I think i am standing on the right side of the line with my recent jean purchase.

American Apparel Easy Jean

So, when you look at the website, i find the pictures do no do it justice...they kinda look 80's jeans that give an instant pouchy look ( I don't know if pouchy is even a word, but i am using it). I find most of their ads are very retro and they style a lot of their clothes reminiscent of 80's fashion ads.  The 80's had a lot of provocative ads in which they used young looking girls and sexualized them to sell a product.  Just like some popular 80's movies like Blue Lagoon using a young Brooke Shields, companies were following suit with their advertisements.     

American Apparel ads can be a post to itself...lets get back to the jeans.

I tried them on, and for my body type they are perfect. I already love the American Apparel High Waisted Leggings and the easy jean is a jegging version of it.  They fit amazing, and the higher waist is very spanx like, instantly shaping your tummy. They also fit really nice on the butt, giving it a bit of a lift.  

Here are some pictures i found online.

On Miley Cyrus

Here are some blog threads that i think show the pants really well.  

Style Fluency

Jazzabells Diary

I like this blog because it shows how the large size of this jean fits.  I really think it is flattering on all body types.
Her Paige

Try these on the next time you are near an American Apparel store.  You may just find the 'mom' jean love too.  

Simple crafts using recyclables/ETFM

I love doing crafts with my daughter.  Last week we saved an area in our playroom to store recyclable material that will be perfect for crafts.   I love having access to cardboard and other recyclable material on hand for impromptu craft time.  Having the material on a shelf allows my daughter to get excited to create fun projects with the materials we have collected.  ETFM (easy to find materials) are a great way to encourage art, without having to make it hard for you to think of something to do.
You can always do a search on Pinterest with the material you have and you will get many results on fun arts and crafts you can do. Even better, you can create something unique using your child's imagination.

 Have you read Not a Box, Beautiful Oops or The Dot?  These are all wonderful books about how you can take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.  A box, becomes a rocket ship.  A dot on a piece of paper becomes a work of art that not only makes a girl believe she can be an artist, but inspires another child who sees her work.  A mistake that may seem to ruin a picture, in fact makes it more beautiful, or creates something new and better than what was originally imagined.  All important messages to teach our children.  The wonderful lessons that can be passed on through art!

So today's post i will leave you with a fun and simple art project to get you started.  Collect those egg cartons, paper towel rolls, cardboard boxes, containers.  Don't forget to look outside for things that can be found in nature- rocks, twigs, sticks, pinecones and leaves as they can be used too.

This one requires an egg carton.  When you look at egg cartons you can see so many things that the shape resembles.  This particular craft demonstrates just that.

Here is a closeup picture?  What do you see?

Do you notice that it looks like a bird?  
If you don't, you soon will!

This is as simple as cutting out two of the circle shapes that hold the eggs and the cone separator together.  I found the easiest way to cut out was to cut around the two circles and half of the cone together. You cut out the other half of the cone separately and attach it on afterwards for an open beak.

Don't forget to make a hole for the eyes.

I used the inside circles as a guide of where to cut a whole for the eyes.  It worked perfectly.  Just use the blade of the scissors and keeping turning around until you get the desired hole in the middle,  perfect with scissors. 

Attach the other side of the beak to create an open mouth.

Paint the bird as you wish

Add a Popsicle stick for a handle.  We decorated ours with pipe cleaners, but plain popsicle stick or painted ones are fine.

We used feathers we found at the dollar store and attached them to the middle of the head.  You can get creative here with anything you want to use to decorate your bird.

Voila- a bird mask.  We even went outside for a bird watching walk.

I got the inspiration for this craft here

The Love List

I have seen bloggers post their love list, where they share links to articles, other blogs, pictures or anything that they want to share with their readers.  I am always passing on great reads to my friends, so i thought that every week i will do the same on my blog.  This will also ensure that i have a record of it.  I am known to pass on links to friends and then have to message them to send the link back to me because i did not bookmark it myself.

This will be a light week, and i will compile some of my recent favorites for next week.  

Love List Target Edition:
Do you have Instagram?  If you do check out #targetdoesitagain or visit this site.
You will get a glimpse of what is new in Target as well as see pictures of two bloggers who go to the store and try on their favorite finds.  I followed them before Target came to Canada to get an idea of what we would be getting.  There are some select brands i love from shopping at Target USA, but so far they have not crossed to our side of the border.  To be honest, I have not gone crazy shopping at our soft Target openings.  There are a few things i have seen that have caught my eye enough to place them in my cart or put them on my wish list for later.

My first Target purchase and i came out with these three items

Ballet flats in red stripes

This jean (chambray) shirt.  

This bird feeder.  I don't plan on using it as a bird feeder, but using it as nature decor in our home.  We go out for walks and my daughter is always finding something in nature she brings home- acorns, leaves, dandelions, flowers from the park (we don't let her pick flowers in public gardens but sometimes you will find an odd beauty in the grass of a park). Now we can use what we find as decor.  I love that she likes nature walks, so this will encourage our love of nature. I got the inspiration from the Chapters home section.  I just wanted to find something unbreakable with a wood look.

I love these and found a perfect wooden, unbreakable alternative at Target.

Here is a cool picture frame.  I may be able to make a DIY version with a picture frame i already have and some little paper clips.  

Target will have it's Canadian grand opening early/mid April.  They will be fully stocked, so i am hoping more of my favorite brands will be stocked.

No Ruby Red Slippers?

My daughter and I are starting a collection of classic literature.  Those books that have stood the test of time and are always a great read.  With a 3 year old, this can be tricky.  I wanted something fun, magical and entertaining as her first book purchase.

I was reminded of one of my favorite movies/plays recently with the 70th Anniversary of MGM's film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.  I loved the movie, and have always wanted to see a Broadway show production of it. I had never read the original story.  I thought it might be a fun story to introduce to my daughter.  I was hoping i would get lucky in finding a suitable book for her age range. With it being the 70th Anniversary, Oz out in theaters and a Broadway show playing in our city, i was hoping i would find what i was looking for at the bookstore.

I DID.

When we got the the kids section, i asked one of the employees if she could help me out.  She giddily told me she had  exactly what i was looking for and led me away from the kids section.  They had a shelf devoted to The Wizard of Oz.  She pointed out one of the books and said it would be perfect for my daughter...and for me.  The front cover was beautiful, and it instantly captured the attention of my daughter.  Inside it was filled with pictures just as beautiful as the cover.  The illustrations are amazing!

Charles Santore is a brilliant artist and even the most discerning Wizard of Oz critics have nothing negative to say about his illustrations.  Santore says "I approached the work very seriously, as though i were on the journey as a naturalist, recording these events for the first time."
My daughter took the book and asked if we could sit in the teacup chair (all Chapters have a nice big chair that resembles a teacup) to read it.  Without really knowing much else about the book we had chosen (not knowing how the story would be adapted for younger readers) we got to reading.  We got to the part where the house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East and all that was left were the silver shoes....wait a minute here....SILVER.  How could they change it to silver shoes?
I went and asked that giddy employee what the deal was with this book. She played off my stupidity and engaged in an enlightening conversation about this book.  Since i had never read the original, i had no idea that the slippers were silver in Baum's book.  Only in the movie adaptations and subsequent plays and books thereafter did it get changed to ruby slippers.  Ruby was chosen to highlight the slippers in the movies because it would provide a great contrast to the Yellow Brick Road.  Silver would have blended in too much.
Furthermore, what i learned was so great about this book is that it is not a mere retelling or adaptation of the original, but a condensed version.  Almost every word in the book is Baum's own.  That is what makes this book perfect.  Original words, but condensed so that you can read it to young children.  Don't be fooled, the book is still long but coupled with the powerful language and imagery you will keep the young readers interested.  We don't read this from cover to cover- you read a few pages and come back to it.  I was actually surprised that we finished it in three reading sessions.  After reading one part to my daughter before bed, she wanted to read another part when she woke up .
Perhaps this is the reason they included a beautiful little ribbon in the same gingham pattern as Dorothy's dress to use as a bookmark (its all about the little details that i love).

There is just too many things to list why i love this book and why i believe it is a must have for your collection.  Here are some themes you can discuss with your kids.

Book Club Discussion Topics For Your 4-6 Age Range. 

-The power of friendship and doing anything you can to help a friend out.  Dorothy was helped a lot of times due to her willingness to always help others when they needed it.
-The desire for brains, heart, courage and to find a way home.  They had what they wanted all along:
The scarecrow wishing he had a brain, when all he really needed was experience. Knowledge is the accumulation of life long learning. The lion wanting courage, but realized he needed to boost his confidence.  Confidence brings courage when faced with difficulty.  The Tin woodman wanting a heart. He proved he had a heart already when he sympathized with Dorothy and her friends.  Dorothy wanting to go back to her gray and deserted home even after being exposed to such a colourful city, full of people and new experiences.  We can travel and venture far, but there will always be a special place in our heart for the place that we call home.  After her travels her home looked much better than she had remembered rather than more bleak.
-Dorothy and the great Wizard of Oz were just ordinary people, but due to circumstances people believed them to be extraordinary.  We never quite see ourselves as capable and influential as others do.

The possibilities of themes are endless.    

I would absolutely recommend this book for your collection.  It is a keepsake and will hopefully be one of those books that one day my daughter will read to her own children, or any child in her life.  She really takes pride in this purchase and treats this book so well.  If a child can see how special it is, you really have to believe it.  You can find it online for $15, but we spent the extra $5 for her to go to the bookstore to purchase it herself (amazing hardcover price). I love Amazon online, but i think it is special when kids get to see the books, and bring them up to the counter to pay every once in a while.

This is the cover of the book.  It is also my daughters favorite image.  There is a double paged version of this in the book.

My favorite illustration.  Dorothy scolding the lion after he tried to scare her faithful friend Toto.

I will leave you with a link that i am using to help build my collection.  

Orbeez

Have your kids introduced you to Orbeez?

Orbeez- say what?  Yes, i was thinking it was some cool new product i was not aware of.  In reality it is the bio gel beads you use to decorate vases for floral arrangements (many people use them inside their vases for their wedding centerpieces).  They are now advertised as Orbeez to appeal to the younger consumers (or parents of the younger consumers).  

Here is an ad I found on You Tube.  

They start off as tiny beads and when soaked in water for about 6-8 hours they swell into water filled balls. 

Kids love playing with them.  So much so that some even bring them to school in a zip lock bag filled with a bit of water and place them on the desk.  It actually is a cool sensory experience.  It is the new stress relief squishy ball.  

I went to the dollar store and got the flower beads- sorry Orbeez makers, but you can't beat $1 each or 4 for $3.  Maybe one day I will shell out the money for your cool looking contraption that spins out Orbeez like a little factory.  For now, my 3 year old is more than happy playing with the flower beads.

I decided to make it a fun experience by getting a long shallow clear bin and filling it up with 4 packages of beads and lots of water.  Let me tell you that 4 packages gets you lots of water balls...LOTS!  

While in the water, you can barely see the balls.  They become invisible as they blend in with the water.  When you put your hands in the water you can feel the balls and it is so much fun to scoop them out. I gave her a strainer and she would transfer them from the the bin full of water to pails. She counted them, she bounced them, put her feet in them (spa day) and pretended her toys had to go through all the balls.  

The best is becoming a magician and making the balls disappear by adding water and making them appear again by dumping the water out.

You have to check out this cool video of how it works...better than my amateur video.

  

Steve Spangler is a great resource for science experiments, and that video inspired us to try it out.

I got the storage bin from Target and it is the best bin to use as a sensory/water bin.  It is long, shallow and clear.  It also has wheels to pull it around your house or outdoors.  

You have to try this out!  Lots of fun for kids...heck i even enjoyed playing with them.