{muutama idis}

fun drawing idea for kids. trace their hand and make it into an octopus. could have made ours a bit nicer but oh well. i don't like crayons. i prefer markers or coloring pencils. crayon crumbs are icky. :)

i made a family home evening temple game. the idea is from the august 2009 friend magazine (lds kids' magazine).
non lds families could make whatever other theme they want. it could be about house rules or a season of the year. or whatever. the idea is to count the number of the words and that's how many paces you move towards the goal. you could just write numbers on the game pieces too. if you have older kids, they can easily draw their own game. decorate the game board and everything. if the kids feel really ambitious, they could even make a poster size game.
i used some of our playdough thingys as game pieces in this picture. i thought it would be fun if everyone made their own game piece out of playdough. that's what we'll do this coming monday.
i used my 1" circle punch to do all the circles. laminated everything. you don't have laminate if you use thick cardboard. depends how long you want it to last. :)
happy friday everyone!
mulla itsellani on karseetakin karseampi olo tanaan. on kuin olisi vatsassa solmu. pinna kireella. taidan olla paljon stressaantuneempi kuin luulinkaan. huh.
lapsenvahti kun sienna menee nukkumaan ja sitten leffaan. eikohan se tasta taas...

{you've got to love your family, you know}

i'm so excited about this cute idea for a fhe duties chart that i had to share it right away before mine is even finished. this is what i just printed out on cardstock. next i'll laminate it. then i'll find pictures of each of us and print them black and white and laminate them too. then i'll use my circle punch to just cut our heads out. the heads will be the size of the centers of these sunflowers. tape the heads on each flower and then each week we'll rotate our duties. sienna and robin of course need help with their duties but it's important for everyone to feel included and they're more likely to enjoy the fhe when they are participating.

simple, easy and so so cute. :)

for those who are wondering what on earth is family home evening - each monday lds families hold family home evening which is basically doing something fun together plus learning the gospel together. no church activities will ever be scheduled on that day. the format is usually the above: an opening prayer, song, short lesson, game or activity, treat and a closing prayer.

you don't have to be lds to do this by the way. anyone can start this beneficial tradition. the lessons don't need to be religious. you could teach first aid/foreign languages/art techniques or whatever your family is interested in. the point is to make sure your family has one special evening a week when the phone isn't answered and time is spent together as a family. so many families are struggling nowadays. special days like these keep families close together. try it. it's fun. :)

ps. if anyone wants a copy of this word document, just let me know and i can e-mail it to you.

{the easter story}

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Hoppy Easter!

Sienna has been tracing pictures using my light table. I'm amazed how well she is able to trace.
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Had to come and quickly share this. I just got it done. We got together at my friend's house this past week to make these Easter themed family home evening kits. Jay had thrown away my egg carton so I had to wait to do mine later at home. But that was ok as I got to use the flower and bling bling that I had at home. :)

So, you get a see through egg carton, cut out scrapbook paper to fit inside the top flap. It's attached underneath with glue dots. I pierced a hole in the plastic and attached the flower on with a tiny brad and then covered it with the bling bling circle. The lettering was done on the paper.

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Inside are instructions and the scriptures that go with each egg. The plastic eggs are numbered with a permanent marker.
We are going to hide these with the chocolate eggs and then later have a family home evening with them.
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This is what is inside the eggs. Top two rows are eggs #1-6. Bottom two rows are eggs #7-12. You just open the eggs in number order and read the eggs and show what's inside. Fun and easy way to share the Easter story with little children. If you click on the picture, you'll be able to read the text.
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For those of you who don't know: Latter-Day Saints hold a family home evening each Monday. Typical format: song, prayer, short lesson, game or activity, (song), prayer, treats.
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Back to my Easter break. :)
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{meeting dora}

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This picture makes me smile because often the only way I get Sienna to pose for a picture is when I ask her to show me something for the camera. We have all kinds of pictures of her "showing stuff". :D

We had a bit of snow earlier this week and Sienna couldn't wait to go and play with it. ***

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Sienna & Dora!
There was a grand opening at the new Best Buy (electronics store) and Sienna was so excited to meet with Dora. Waited in line outside, waited in line inside, "Hi Dora!", few seconds to snap couple of pictures, goodbyes & high fives to Dora, Dora coloring page & crayons for Sienna - and we were done. But it was all worth it. Sienna was happy.
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You can make your own bingo game. I made these for our Primary sharing time today (it was a huge success!). I just did a Microsoft Word table (height & width of columns/rows= 1.5"). Typed in the things that went with the lesson. Made six different bingo boards (cut/copy & paste) and cut out an extra one. Laminated it all first. I printed mine on cardstock so it would be sturdier. Macaroni/buttons/pennies can be used as game pieces. The middle square is a freebie. Any theme works. Kids could even draw pictures instead of words. If anyone wants me to e-mail my Word document to them, just leave me a comment with your e-mail address.
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Elisa haastoi mut kertomaan jouluaskarteluista sun muusta. Laitan varmaan tanne lisaa joulujuttuja mutta nyt ihan ekaksi nayte joulukuusenkoristeista joita olen alkanut tekemaan. Printtaan sepia varisia valokuvia, laminoin ne, leikkaan ympyroiksi, metalli brad:lla nauha kiinni kuvaan ja voila. Keep it simple silly. Less stress. :D Mutta saa tietty tehda ihan niin koristeellisiksi kuin haluaa. Khm.
Tykkaan koristeista joihin voi laittaa kuvia. Olen ostanut Siennalle hopeanvarisia joulukuusenkoristeita. Saa ne sitten aikanaan omaan kotiinsa lahjaksi. Jos ei kaupoista loydy moisia kuvakehyskoristeita niin voihan niita taas kerran tehda itse. Kukat, nallet, lumiukot, lumihiutaleet... Kaiken voi muuntaa kuvakoristeiksi. Hyva idis aina laminoida paperista tehdyt koristeet jotta kestavat sitten kauan. Muttei tietty oo pakko. Onhan rypistyneetkin koristeet jotenkin ihania. Varsinkin lasten omatekoiset.
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Ihan kuin Jay olisi osannut lukea ajatukseni puoliksi valmiista kodista silla alkoi jarkkaamaan meidan kellarikerrosta. Sielta loytyi vaikka mita. Tama TOSI ISO pahvilaatikko jonka Jay leikkasi Siennalle pikku taloksi. Robin on ollut susi ja yrittanyt puhaltaa taloa nurin. Kikatusta, kikatusta. Kuka tarvii kalliita leluja. :)
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Mun lempparit David Archuletan cd:lla: You Can, To Be With You, Your Eyes Don't Lie & Angels. Kuuntelin eilen illalla Angels:n ainakin 10 kertaa yhteenmenoon. David:lla on enkelin aani. Miten saisin David:n Siennalle sitten mieheksi kun on sen aika. :) On se niin suloinen poitsu. Ihanan "puhdas". Toivottavasti pysyy sellaisena.

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