Family Fun

Super Simple Dump Truck Cake

by Stacy on May 3, 2010

I’m terribly behind on posting all the fun things we did in April. Tons of outdoor play, my big news, and some green endeavors but before I get to any of that … I just had to share a snippet from my Little Man’s 1st Birthday party. I called it a Little Digger party and I kept it super simple – a kiddie pool full of buckets, shovels and beans (easier to clean up indoors than sand), construction hats, super sized dump trucks and more. It was just the perfect chance for me to create the dump truck cake I’ve been dreaming of for years now. Literally … TWO YEARS! I tried to make it once before using brownies but my brownies always turn out flat and crusty and well the effect just wasn’t what I had in mind.

This time, however, I choose Devil’s Food Cake (and one butter yellow just for good measure). Followed the directions on the box and then cut it all up into cubes.

{Two Devil’s Food Cakes cut into cubes}

Taa Daa!! Coolest Boy’s Birthday Cake Ever!

I served it up in these super cute dump trucks I picked up from Target (in the pool toys aisle) for $1.99. A few cubes of cake, some Sugar Free chocolate pudding, lite whip cream and sprinkles = A BIG HIT!

I stuck some pinwheels and cute candles in the mix that I snagged from the Dollar store.

PARTY TOTAL: UNDER $40
The most expensive part of the party was the beans (I bought over 22 lbs of them). If I did it again I would probably just buy a bag or two of sand (I heard they are $3 at Walmart) and put the kiddie pool outside.

BEANS – $22
Buckets, Shovels and Construction Hats – $5 (Target Dollar Store & Goodwill)
Mini Dump Trucks – $6 for 3
Dump Truck Cake – $3.75 (Borrowed the Dump Truck from Big Brother)

Little Digger approves and I’ll bet your Little Digger will too.

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Setting Up Shop

by Stacy on November 18, 2009

KSW_Eat_Local

Looking for some fun activities to keep your little ones busy this Thanksgiving Holiday? We’ll be featuring some fun for everyone ideas to keep the wee ones occupied and get them excited about Thanksgiving at the same time!

Our first activity is setting up a pretend grocery store ~ talk about Eating Local! The only limit is your imagination and if you’re a recycler, than chances are you have everything you need in your recycling bins {Empty juice bottles, cereal boxes or any boxes for that mater, yogurt or butter containers, etc}. Anything your kids will have fun sorting, stacking, and putting in their carts.

If you have toys or toy bins with wheels (dump trucks, strollers, toy boxes, etc) use these as makeshift shopping carts. Give your kids a few reusable shopping bags for toting their goods after they pay.

I taught my kids to pick out the items they wanted and wheel them to the checkout ( 2 x Ikea Lack Tables and a fisher price piano). Next, we emptied the shopping carts, scanned all the items (complete with beeping sound and everything) and packed them into the shopping bags. We used junk mail as our currency but given more time, I’ll probably make some life like versions out of felt.

The kids had a blast with this activity and the best part was watching them interact with one another with no adult participation. Anytime there’s a chance to see the world through the eyes of a child, I encourage you to stop and take a moment to enjoy it. More than likely, you will learn something yourself.

Note: Children will vary, but this activity provided 45 minutes of pure entertainment for my 2 & 3 year old. This activity inspired from the Bo’s November curriculum Yr II from Itty Bitty Bookworm (more on this amazing resource coming soon)

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Family Time – Snow White Movie Night

by Stacy on November 2, 2009

Halloween may be over, but chances are your child is still craving a little dress up time and imaginative play. What better way to give in to their desires, than with a themed movie night that is bound to be fun for your whole family!

I’m starting a new KSW series, I’ll call - Family Movie Nights – it’s kind of fitting that our first movie in the series is known as The One That Started Them All, the first animated feature film in America, ~*~*~ Snow White ~*~*~. From time to time, KSW will feature fun ideas for family togetherness that will not only help bring your family closer but also build lasting memories you will cherish for years to come.

Make an evening at home a little more interesting by inserting a few fun activities and creative treats into the mix. Personalize the experience for your kids but Keep it Simple by focusing on these three areas – Create, Eat & Watch

CREATE

The Snow White Crown is perfect for your little princess and adds some flair to your existing dress-up collection

The adorable felt broom works for boys or girls and will look super cute in your child’s play room

What could be more fun than creating your own version of the seven dwarves with recycled toilet paper rolls- I can almost hear them now, Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s off to work we go

Have your kids color these FREE Snow White Coloring pages and use them as placemats

EAT

Anything made from apples or in miniature {cause of the dwarves} will work but I’m loving the idea of serving a crisp juicy apple, alongside a few of these witch hat cookies. My family made these for Halloween, they’re the perfect cookie project for toddlers.

Or take the apple theme a step further: Set up DIY Candy Apple assembly area with a few containers of chocolate, caramel, and nuts and let the kids do the rest.

You could even whip up seven easy pies

WATCH

The brand-new Diamond Collection includes a Blu-Ray, high-definition version of the movie, a DVD copy of the film, and several bonus features not included on the 2001 DVD. KSW was given a promotional copy for review and was super impressed by the color quality of this picture.

Why We Love It: We love a movie with a message and this one has quite a few. There’s the obvious lessons for the kids – Don’t Accept Gifts from Strangers and What’s on the inside is even more beautiful than what’s on the outside, but there’s even a message behind the scenes in Snow White. You see, this movie is a true testament to the phrase Triumph over Adversity. You see, Walt Disney met quite a bit of resistance from friends, family and business partners while trying to produce this film. Despite even his wife’s pleas to halt production, Disney followed his heart and mortgaged his home to complete the film. And we’re so thrilled he did!

Why Diamond Edition You Ask? It’s like getting 2 movies for the price of one – If you’re like me than you have a stack of movies suitable for your children to take on long trips or to frineds and Grandma’s house. Then, you have your Disney Classics tucked away for safe keeping gathering dust on your shelf and being reserved for special occasions. Well, not anymore … You get one version, the Blu-Ray as a keepsake copy for your home and another DVD version that you can take with you wherever you go. Keep the Blu- Ray version in your home for family nights and carry the normal DVD version with you in the car, to a friends house, on a plane, whatever – whenever – whereever.

This is Disney’s first release in the “Diamond Collection” series of movies, get your copy from Amazon for just $19.99 & FREE shipping with Amazon Prime

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Kiss Summer Boredom Goodbye

by Stacy on July 23, 2009

Sure, all the experts agree that giving kids some down time to explore their own creativity and imagination ~ yadda, yadda, yadda is a great way for them to mature into their own personalities. Still, at this point in their Summer Vacation, your children are probably complaining about being overly bored and starting to go a little stir crazy in the process (or if you have multiples or toddlers or even multiple toddlers {yep, that’s me}, you’re probably the one going stir crazy). I don’t know about you, but I’m craving something FUN, AFFORDABLE, and EDUCATIONAL to throw into our daily mix.

Fortunately, I’ve found just the thing to put an end to Summer Boredom for good. The Summer Activities Challenge 2009, is a fun program Education.com has put together for parents and kids alike. With over 1,000 activities available and something for every age group, this site is like a breath of fresh air for parents this summer. They’ve even given you a little incentive to do these activities with your child … if you complete just 20 of these activities by August 31st (you’ve probably already done a few on your own), you’ll be entered to win a Dell Latitude 2100 Notebook or one of 100 Lego Creator mini sets.

There truly is something fun for everyone … from “Simon Says” and “Mother May I” to Backyard Astronomy and everything in between, the activities are easily sorted by grade and/or school subject and they even have a special section for preschoolers and outdoor activities.

I hope you’ll take a moment to sign up for this fantastic challenge and stay tuned to see which activities the Kids Stuff World toddlers complete over the next few weeks.

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Announcing the Winners …

by Stacy on June 9, 2009

Bedtime Stories

Image via Telegraph.Co.UK

We had such a fun time running this year’s KSW Kohl’s Cares for Kids Summer Reading Giveaway. Your comments turned us on to so many great new books (summarized list coming soon) and even better, we heard some wonderful ways parents, soon-to-be parents, daycare workers, and grandparents are incorporating reading into their children’s lives. We were so inspired, we just had to choose those comments as the winners of the contest. Here’s a peek at what these mindful parents and soon-to-be moms had to say:

“I am 6 months pregnant with my first chid, but I have started to read outloud whenever I read a book. My husband does the same thing when he is reading next to me.” ~ Alexis Hernandez

“On hot days (like today) we spend quiet afternoons in the tent inside reading books. The kids love it! Especially when we make popcorn.” ~ Katie

“To encourage reading…I have my 8 year old read a book to my 2 year old, which then inspires my 2 year old to read a book to our yellow lab Sadie:)” ~ Tangie

“The Daycare Kiddos and I love to read. I have a huge front porch and have filled it with rocking chairs, benches, little chairs.. Everything so the kiddos and i are comfy out there. We watch the traffic, and then it is reading time. They love it.. We love to sit on the front porch and read.. Going on a Bear Hunt.. or The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
I also read to them right before naptime, as they are laying on their little beds, today’s book was the Napping House.. they loved it.” ~ Maureen

“Reading is great. It’s so great that once a week I take my son to the library for him to choose his own books. He loves it. We even got him his own library card so he feels special. This fits great for our family.” ~ Keonte

Congratulations Alexis, Katie, Tangie, Maureen and Keonte we’ll be contacting you soon

We enjoyed reading your comments so much and hearing your personal stories that we’ve decided to keep the summer reading ideas coming. Do you have your own personal way of sharing your love of reading with your child or incorporating storytime into your family life? If so, we’d love to hear about it. Just share your ideas in the comment section of this post. We’ll share the most creative entries with our readers and even link back to your site (if you have one). Leave as many comments as you like and comment often, you never know there just might be a prize or two involved for some of you.

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