simple and fun road trip activities for kids!

July 25, 2012 by mama lola

here are some of the funny and crafty activities i made or purchased for the boys for our upcoming road trip out east to the maritimes. the ideas are universal and not at all unique, but as usual i was inspired by pinterest. here’s a pretty extravagant activity board by one mama, which is beautiful, but way too elaborate for me. so i toned things down A LOT and made these two different activity boards.

felt peeps n’ animals on a felt board
i took a piece of cardboard and just started hot glue-gunning the felt on. i cut the green into a hilly landscape and the blues into skies. i tried to be meticulous when gluing so that the kids wouldn’t find a corner or loose felt to start picking at. i found some felt people from a thrift store, so i made them some summer clothes.

then i headed to micheal’s and found a ready-made felt board for only $4 (regularly $14-$20), so i bought one themed “under the sea”. cute, eh?

magnets & magnet board
i went to the dollar store and bought two small cookie sheets. then i bought a sheet magnet, fancy stickers and then headed home.

dear hubby and i spent a couple episodes of “mad about you” sticking the stickers onto the magnet sheet and then carefully cutting them out.

we also glued some wee dino’s onto the magnet sheets to make some 3D magnets as well. i think they turned out really well!!! RRrrroarrRR!

dollar $tore junk
i am not a huge supporter of dollar store junk, but i have to admit for this road trip that place was kind of a toy haven. i don’t want to pack precious sentimental toys, in case they get lost or destroyed on the trip, so i stocked up on funny, cheap crap instead. the kids are going to be so thrilled; anything new is always fun for a bit. i also bought some glow wands, which will be exciting at bedtime when it’s dark.

i did also purchase some more wholesome activity books to round out the junk. i chose two kumon books for bear and some simple colour/ stickering books for lion. they both love their activity books, and bear especially will be kept busy by them for long periods of time.

now, it’s time to go pack some more!

have you made any fun travel activities for your kids?

lion’s birthday par-teh!

July 9, 2012 by mama lola

we had a small and simple birthday party for lion’s second birthday. we invited everyone to join us at a local park, next to the river and a playground.
it was perfect.
we found a picnic table next some big ol’ shady trees and set up our party.
there were carrot cake and chocolate lion cupcakes.

rainbow fruit kabobs.

beautiful handmade pinwheels made by dear hubby. inspiration from HERE.

balloons for all the kids to take home!

colourful bunting flags quickly sewn up by your truly. see instructions HERE.

we had flowers from our backyard.

drinks sitting in a bucket of ice.

signing happy birthday and paljon onnea!

we ate all the goodies with goodie friends!

and lion was spoiled with lots of wonderful new toys and gifts!

and, lion was the recipient of lots of special birthday hugs and kisses!

lion’s birthday was a success! it wasn’t nearly as emotional as i had suspected, although i did have a few good sobs in the days leading up his birthday. and, as usual, i got a lump in my throat when singing paljon onnea; i am such a sop sometimes!

cottage.

July 3, 2012 by mama lola

we spent a glorious weekend swimming and soaking up the sun up at the cottage this past weekend. it was such fun; the boys love it up there surrounded by trees, nature and peace.

we cottaged.

we swam.

we savoured.

we played.

we ate.

we spent time with family.

we made decorations for canada day.

we enjoyed simplicity.

i tried to relax and enjoy, but i was distracted. i have another follow up in the big city with my neurologist and endochronologist this week. the tension has caused great pain in my neck and the top of my spine. fingers crossed my MRI and bloodwork from a few weeks ago are all clear and i that i continue to be tumour free. i hate to worry. i hate tumours.

my garden.

June 28, 2012 by mama lola

my dream has always been to have my own garden. when we moved into our house, i was so excited about the prospect of being outside and digging in the dirt, that i completely forgot in those fantasies that i was about seven months pregnant! in those days i was consistently exhausted from being pregnant, chasing after a two year old bear and living with the tumour on my pituitary gland. any one of those circumstances alone is tiresome, but triple the effect and it’s kinda amazing that even got out of bed daily!

so, to my shame and shagrim our garden was a disaster. my parents would visit, and within an hour or so my mom would be out there trying to make sense of the weeds. it was embarrassing. we didn’t have any of the right tools for maintenance either. check out the grass in the second picture; dear hubby would try to cut it with scissors! oh, boy!

but, we’ve come a long way baby. the wildflower seeds that we threw into the yard have taken and now after a few years, they are growing beautifully and continue to seed more and more of the garden. i love them. their bold colours are so summery. my perennials are thriving and things are finally taking shape. we did cut down some trees on our property as they were leaning but we have replanted them. i didnt realise how long it would take to cut down trees on your property as it did take a couple of days but im glad its all sorted now. with this being said, as it did take a lot of time, if we had used the services of a tree surgeon, this job would have probably been done a lot better, a lot faster and would have saved us a lot of time. but at least we know for next time. when you take care of your garden, you realise how much time actually needs to go into it to get the look you are going for. saying that though, if you do want to give your garden a makeover, but are not sure where to start, getting in touch with companies who provide something similar to a Gresham Landscape Maintenance Service for example, could be something worth looking into, especially if improving your garden has been something you’ve been putting off.

this week my succulents are exploding with flowers.

the kids made some decorations for our porch (can you spot them?) and then ate apples!
check out their cute new hair do’s too!

it’s getting hot, hot, hot again here.

come find me and follow me on twitter (@bearandlionmama).

family picnic.

June 18, 2012 by mama lola

on saturday we had an annual family event with dear hubby’s side of the fam. the family picnic was thank-fully held in our community this year, so we were able to over pack and get home quickly at the end of the day.

these events are fun, but exhausting as well. with so many people and so many names and families to remember, i kind of go blank after a while. i’ve been attending these gatherings for about ten years and have been to most of them, and still i can’t get the who is who; my brain just can’t connect the dots that make up the family tree.

we got home late. the kids were exhausted from the long day. bear was asking to go home at the end!

the last time the family picnic was hosted here five summers ago, i was pregnant with bear and grandma was with us. what a bittersweet memory.

*****
it’s going to be a hot week for us! expected highs in the +30c!!!
YIKES!!!

father’s day.

June 17, 2012 by mama lola

celebrating father’s day is different from celebrating mother’s day. i always find mother’s day to be wrapped in sentimentality, and that’s probably my own doing. i’m a sappy kinda gal and get caught up in the emotion of the day very easily.

father’s day, is more easy going and fun, i think. bear has been very involved in this years plans and decorations, and has loved the secrets he has had to keep from his dad. we made lotsa art; the kids painted rocks for the grandpa’s that were animal paperweights. for their dad, they painted a huge sign. such fun and cuteness!

and, see the awesome hat we had custom made for dear hubby? haha!

bear held missM for the first time. look at how she is looking up at him and taking it all in so closely. she is such a sweet little miss. the boys adore their cousin, oh so much!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE DAD’S OUT THERE!

a jimmy fallon video!

June 14, 2012 by mama lola

here is jimmy fallon (SNL grad), the roots (love ’em and have for years!) and carly rae jepson (not sure who she is), getting their jam on using classroom instruments! this video instantly made me smile! what fun!

well, it is the most perfect day out there. bright blue skies, not a cloud in sight, no humidity and a breeze to make it feel even more perfect! the kids have turned into nudie summer babes, running around the backyard in their nakedness, painting or doing chalk art. they are so stinkin’ adorable.

we have been in the throws of father’s day preps and i will post pictures of the final projects, so as not to spoil the surprise for anyone! bear knows all about dear hubby’s gift, but also fully understands that it’s a secret and explained to his dad that he can’t talk about it. whew!

time to go play!

enjoy your thursday!

what are you up to today?

june showers.

June 3, 2012 by mama lola

we have a big family wedding this summer, bubba & patty are getting married! the boys are ring bearers, dear hubby will usher at the church and i will co-MC at the reception. we’re all super excited! this weekend was patty’s shower. it was such a lovely afternoon with her friends and family. patty’s mum and sister worked hard and fed us with beautiful food, and in turn had us participating in silly games!

sunday, sunday was a lazy family day for us, for a change. bear and i had some superb morning cuddles first up in bed and then downstairs on the couch. he’s going through a snuggly phase again, which i love. of course.

then we played outside on the front porch. it has been raining and raining and raining here. not that i’m complaining, just making an observation! the picture of the dark clouds is from saturday evening. looked menacing, but it only rained a little.

dear hubby made his famous rice-n-beans-guacamole-holy-moly burritos for dinner. they were so delicious, topped with peach/mango salsa and sour cream. i accidentally over-ate a little! sigh.

now, kids off to bed with their clean hair and sleepy eyes.

dear hubby and i cannot find lion’s soother anywhere and we’re taking it as a sign. so, this is it… cutting that habit off tonight! fingers crossed the little dude doesn’t get too mad. bear was a disaster for a couple of nights, but then got over it pretty quickly.

good night.

here’s hoping for a restful sleep, yeah right!!!

sleep.

May 31, 2012 by mama lola

as summer rolls in with it’s hot and humid days we are clocking in more hours outside. there are gardens to tend to, bikes to ride and diggers to dig with. we are trying to take advantage of the warm weather. but, with warmer temperatures come new routines and a mama who has to be more flexible about all the daily activities.

baths are often skipped for a dip in the kiddy pool or for garden work, dinners are sometimes pushed back and snacks are devoured outside in the heat. more popsickles are consumed and more watermelon is dripped all over shirts, which makes perfect sense, as these are ways we can take full advantage of our short summers here in canada.

[ lion holding his wee cousin. sweet. ]

sleep is another biggie that we have had become more flexible about. it’s hard though, because kids need a certain amount of Z’s to function at their best. but, as we clock in more time outside it means the dudes are clocking in less time in bed, because of this, i am trying to enforce longer naps for lion and stiller, quiet time for bear, daily. we had similar sleep conundrums last summer, too. some of my friends tell me it is all about the mattress. if the kiddy mattress isn’t comfy, such episodes tend to happen. i guess we should get them appropriate bedding. mattress hunting can get confusing at times because there are infinite choices! maybe i should do some research by reading articles and reviews, like this great Peacelily Mattress Review.

anyway, last night we celebrated a special birthday. we left the party just before 9pm, got home by 9:30pm and that’s when lion woke up and then both kids had difficulty falling back asleep. it was 10:30pm, before they were both soundly sleeping in their beds, which for us is unheard of!

[ happy birthday grandpa! ]

i crawled into bed fearing the following day.

but, we survived today without too many bruises; no more than usual! we played croquet with great friends and had an awesome grilled cheese lunch outside!

i have lived another day of mothering and look forward to tomorrow’s adventures!

how was your day today?

a ballet mama.

May 28, 2012 by mama lola

some mama’s are soccer mom’s, but i’m not.
i’m a ballet mom.

last week bear had an open house at his ballet school, so we went and watched. my heart was busting at the seams, bursting with pride and love for my little guy as he galloped and plied with all his little tutu:ed friends. he appeared tired, but he rallied through all the things his teacher, missM asked him to do.

lion stayed at home with our baby-sitter. he was very displeased when we left and it sounded as though the 90 minuted he was home alone with the sitter were pretty traumatic. apparently he went around pointing to various toys and clothes saying “memo”, which is what he calls his big bro.
augh, heartbreaking!