DIY HOUSE DECAL

The LO has a new spot! She has her own little nook tucked in our bedroom.  It has a mattress on the floor, "Baba" the bear and some books.  To complete the space, I decorated the wall behind it with houses using washi tape.  Yes! washi tape!

DIY CEREAL BOXES FOR PRETEND PLAY

Just for fun, I decided to make some pretend food for the LO's kitchen.  This is such an easy DIY project! I had some individually packed cereal boxes and I figured it could go in the play kitchen. 

DIY CARDBOARD GUITAR STAND

My husband got the LO her very first guitar and she loves it.  She carries it around the house and pretends to be like daddy.  But it is driving me crazy as to where to put it.  And so, I made a guitar cardboard stand.  Yes, crazy.  But, I did. 

PRETEND DIY ICE CREAM SHOP

This is a super late post... Since school is out, I am now able to finally finish this post! For summer, I made an ice cream shop for pretend play.  

FOR THE LOVE OF LEGO

The LO can now enjoy playing with Legos and I am so excited.  I love Legos, I think they're one of the best toys ever made.  At this time, she can't build yet.   She is at the pretend play stage and the model that she has allows her to play with farm animals. I am teaching her to feed the animals, put the animals to sleep and open or close the barn doors.  I am also teaching her turn taking like "My turn", "your turn" and "we're waiting".

POST OFFICE PRETEND PLAY

It's community helpers month.  I set-up the kitchen area as a post office pretend play for the kids. I made a post office sign and a price list.  I wrapped a box with blue construction paper to make the the mail box.  I made some letters out of carton boxes and even got small boxes from the post offices.   I put some papers and pens to encourage the children to write letters to their friends.

KITCHEN UPGRADE

The LO's kitchen got an upgrade.  It now has a sink for her to wash her hands. We were at Marshalls and the LO spent 30 minutes washing her hands in a play kitchen.  The grandparents wanted to buy her the kitchen but it was way too colorful.  We want to buy her the Ikea kitchen when she grows a little taller so it doesn't make sense to buy one now and then buy another one. 

DIY FELT EGG

For fun, I decided to make the LO a felt egg.  Pinterest has a lot of tutorials and templates on DIY felt foods and it was so tempting to make all of them!  I decided to make the egg because it seemed the easiest.  I didn't even use any template for this one.  

KID'S MEALS ARE NOT JUST FOR KIDS

Today, I bought the LO her first kid's meal.  Willingly; without her even pulling my arm.  She did not even have to throw a tantrum.  No arms flailing or legs kicking.  Not one tear shed. 

DIY CARDBOARD KITCHEN

I have been eyeing Ikea's kitchen for a while now for the LO.  But when we went to Ikea, it was still a bit high for her, so I did the next best thing... I made her a kitchen made of cardboard box.

DIY ACCENT PILLOWS

Lately, I have been in love with the Scandinavian decor -- clean lines, open spaces, white walls and black accents.  Can it be any more be my style? I am all about the neutrals.  I shy away from color because it just does not work for me.  But Scandinavian? I like.  Actually, I LOVE.  One of the things I love about Scandinavian design is its simplicity.  I love love their accent pillows but they are too expensive! So, I decided to make them!

BUSY BIN: COFFEE CUP HOLE FILLER

Do you know there's a lot of free stuff out there for the taking? Amazing what you could come up with a little creativity.  Here is the LO playing with coffee lid hole covers (I am not sure what you actually call them lol) that I got from a coffee shop. 

BUSY BIN: STRAWS

 Are you familiar with task boxes? I LOVE them.  Task boxes aims to help children concentrate and focus on a tasks.  Task boxes are very structured.  They have one goal in mind -- transferring one object from a container to another container, sorting objects by color or completing a pattern.  They could also be easily made using a shoe box.  Though I love the idea of task boxes, I do not like the idea of how much space it will take if I were to make them.  We live in a 480 square feet after all.

PHOTO BOOTH PROPS

Aren't these the cutest? These were from last year.  I made them for the LO's birthday party but never got to use it.  All you need are cardstock paper, some sticks and sharpies!

DUKE'S CARDBOARD KITCHEN

How cute is this? This is Duke's kitchen made out of a cardboard box! My friend Cita made this for the little guy using a box, markers, tape and paper!

DIY PALM TREE

This is one of the projects that I did for my daughter's birthday but never got to post.  It's a simple DIY palm tree using things you probably have in your house.

 

BECAUSE WE'VE ALL GROWN UP

My friends and I had our yearly Christmas get together 3 weeks ago.  Yes, 3 weeks ago; on a January. Here is our mandatory picture that we instantly posted on FB and instagram just to tell the whole world 'Hey we still go out!'.

Everyone had a busy December with the Christmas season and out of state guests that it was quite difficult to get everyone together in one spot at the same time.  I love seeing my friends.  But, I must disclose that the forthe last year, we probably saw each other less than eight times compared to every week two years ago.  

Do we choose not to see each other? Not really.  Do we opt to see each other more often?  Not either.  The thing is, life happened.  We all got busy.  Some of us including myself have taken the role of a mom.  Some pursued a new hobby.  Some just had more pressing matters to attend to.  It is the norm of life... Priorities change and you deal with it.  That's what life is all about.

MAMA MIA!

The story revolves about a mom and her daughter who is about to be married.  The daughter wanted her real dad to walk her down the aisle so she invited 3 men who were part of her mother's past hoping to find out who her real dad is. Here is our mandatory selfie in front of the theater prior the show.

HOW TO INTRODUCE A SHAPE SORTER TOY TO A TODDLER

Does your toddler get frustrated when playing with a shape a sorter toy? Mine does.  Shape sorter toys are great for toddlers. It helps them with their eye hand coordination, pincer and palmar grasps and problem solving skills.  Introducing a shape sorter toy is a little bit tricky.  The LO is only 16 months and she gets frustrated that she can't fit a shape into a hole.  So, I had to go back a step and teach her to put objects into a container first.  I started with an open basket then moved towards to a plastic container to a pringles tube.  All sucesses!! The key is to gradually introduce a smaller hole opening.  Now, here's the next dilemna, as you introduce a new concept, you need to make sure that it is challenging enough that it pushes the LO to persevere but not difficult enough that she will just give up.

LO'S FIRST BAG

The LO is obsessed with my bag.  She dives into it and go for the good stuffs -- my wallet, keys and planner.  She walks around the house with my bag in her arm or my Iphone in her ear.  I figured, I can buy her her own very bag and found this in Amazon: Kidoozie My First Purse

HOW TO PACK BABY CLOTHES USIING ZIPLOCK BAGS

 It is common knowledge among my friends that when I travel, I travel light. I once traveled with a back pack for a 3 day weekend.  Now, however, that we have a toddler, packing has taken a new meaning.  It now means check in baggage, mixed up clothing and looking for things in a haystack.  On our first family trip, I over packed.  Half of our check in luggage was LO's; and her clothes are tiny compared to my clothes and my husband's.

DIY TENT

The LO got to play house today.  I was doing my end of year cleaning and I took out her gray mat. I realized I can assemble it to make a tent!