After buying a laminator, I went crazy looking for printables to laminate. The hard part was finding a way to organize and categorize each printed item. 

Originally, I used two folders to keep all of my Spanish and English cards. That wasn’t as efficient as it seemed at the time.

This is one of the folders:

It’s a disaster.

I visited the 99 cents store and found a small bin. I cut colored cardstock into filing seperators and sectioned off my laminated cards. 

This makes it easier for me to view and access the laminated cards. 

For the 3 part cards that have matching toobs, I put them in zip lock bags and stuffed them in a bin. 

The instrument printables are from Imagine Our Life.

Let me know if you try this and if it works for you leave a note in the comments. 

Valentines day is in a few days!

I always look forward to teaching my toddler about love, kindness and generosity. In February it’s especially easy to do because, Valentine’s Day epitomizes altruism.  Although people complain that the holiday has become too comercialized, the history behind it makes it one of my favorite Holidays.
Teaching history to people is not easy. The first time I took history in college I ended up with drool on my desk. Even though that happened, I never gave up on history because I knew it was interesting, and i had a great high school teacher. The history lessons you get in high school are sensored and compact (BORING). I was only interested in history because of Mr. Davis and his flamboyant stories of historical figures. Although, I had respect for history lessons I  would never go out of my way to find books, or even watch the history channel. Luckily for me, I took a western civilization course in college. That teacher rocked it!  I wish I knew how he did it, but history is now so interesting. I dont want my toddler to have to wait until she’s 20-something to love history. The following is an example of how to introduce a little St. Valentine history to toddlers:

If you’ve never heard of St. Valentine’s history click here. St. Valentine was valiant, brave, and lived at the end of the third century A.D.  Because toddlers do not fully understand the concept of time, using an hour glass while melting  ice can help explain events a little better.I used a heart shaped silicone mold to make my ice. While this does not explain the concept of A.D. Versus B.C, it will give some idea of time passing by. This is how I did it:

Here is the picture of the ice and hour glass. This particular hourglass takes 3 minutes to spill it’s sand.

 I used a silicone heart mold for the ice. You could add red water color paint if you’d like.

Here is the partial melted ice:

I used a sheet to create a time line, and used a glitter red crayon to draw the time line:

It took 50 minutes for the ice to melt. My toddler was getting a little restless. At 24 minutes I brought out an orca, because she wanted to put the dolphin in the ice. I let her know orcas prefer the colder weather, while the dolphins do not. She didnt care. We left them both in the small container. I also brought out a penguin book:

Affiliate link: Little Penguin (Look at Me Books)

It took 50 minutes for the ice to melt! We talked about past, present, and future with the time line. This will not make your toddler instantly remember minutes, and time, but it helps explain the concept. My toddler wanted to do this again the following day.

To teach about St. Valentine I created a felt puppet:

I chose this representation of St. Valentine because we have this book (affiliate link):

Affiliate link:Saint Valentine

I sewed the finger puppet, and cut the arms and beard:

I used my favorite glue:

Affiliate Link: Beacon Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive, 4-Ounce

I did sew the arms on because, while the glue is very strong, I wanted a sturdier hold for those arms, just in case they were going to move once I handed the puppet over to my toddler. I used a pen to draw the face on St. Valentine.

The puppet can be used when reading the book, or just when explaining the story. Here is the story I used:
“Once upon a time, in the past, there was a priest who went against an oppressive King. The subjects of the King who followed a certain faith were banned from marriage. They could not be friends forever. Priest Valentine would secretly marry these friends so that they could be together forever and continue to follow their beliefs.”
You could use animals, blocks, or Q and U for the “friends”.

I also made this song (happy birthday song):

Happy Valentine’s Day to you.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you.

Because, he married couples in secret,

Happy Valentine’s Day to you.

I hope these activities help you and your children celebrate Valentine’s day and helps your toddler become a fan of history.

When my toddler was 2, I found out about felt story books and fell in love. I wish I knew about these when I was pregnant, I would have made a ton! Now I only have time to make one sheet every three months!

I’m attempting to make a calendar felt book, which I will post later this month. Today, I finished this wonderful bath and shower felt sheet.

I got the idea after I found checkered felt at Micheals. I didn’t use a pattern and instead cut everything by hand. I don’t mind that it’s uneven, or that I didn’t finish sewing the right side of the curtain. I can go on and on with the mistakes, but I’ll just enjoy the completed work now. 

I’m not a seamstress, I just know how to sew a very good uneven line. I also do not own a sewing machine (I don’t even know how to use one!). If you’re the same, and it hinders you from making anything for your toddler, I really encourage you to start with a felt sheet. I’ll post my current felt book soon, but this post is all about this single sheet. Here go the details:

First, I cut a checkered sheet in half and sewed them to a white felt sheet. I felt the checkered sheet looked like tile and used it appropriately.

For the bath I folded as white felt sheet in half and cut it to represent one. Here:

I sewed the sides and then I sewed the bath tub to the sheet. I made sure to leave the top flap free:

Originally, I was going to permanently sew the blue felt onto the bath, but when my toddler played with it she placed the “water” down the drain. Instead, I sewed just the edge of the felt piece so it could move and go down the “drain”:

The shower was made with a single straight-cut piece of gray felt that I folded at the top to turn into a shower. The running water was a small piece of light blue felt that I shredded with scissors to appear like running water. One of the pieces has already been cut off. There were three running “streams”. 

I was making capes for my toddler and had left over satin(?) material and decided to use it for the curtain. I had no idea what I was going to use for the curtain rod. I was thinking maybe a metal piece. This morning I decided to use a straw. Because, I’m a bad seamstress I sewed the curtain too tight and now it only moves half way! Here is the straw detail:

My toddler tried to pour actual water in the bath, but because it was water-color blue, I let her know it would stain the felt. You can see a few drops of the water on this felt sheet. I don’t feel bad about being strict with that, I feel she needs to respect her toys.

I wish I had more time to complete tons of sheets of felt that are effectively engaging for my toddler. Right now, I have to settle for one felt sheet every few months. 
If you have any tips on how to fix the curtain issue, I would appreciate it. Leave the tips in the comments if you’ve got them! 

My husband get’s these wonderful notebooks (WITH GRAPH PAPER SHEETS!) from work. Of course, I steal them from him, since he never uses them! I also found the best use for them, so he can’t steal it back.

Because I’m an avid Pinterest peruser, I came across a Bullet Journal(R) pin. Ryder Carroll invented this ingenious journal method. You can watch the video here.

I started my journal in December, and it has helped me so much! I know it’s not for everyone, especially since we live in an electronic heaven. It’s easier to use your phone, computer, or a blog as your journal then to have to lug a notebook around with all of your goals, dreams, and secrets in it!

I keep mine at home. I use it every other day, or when I’m good, daily. It keeps me motivated, and organized. I have tons of things I like to do, want to accomplish all at once, and I also have a toddler. The journal helps me stay focused. It also helps me be real with myself. I want to do 10,000 things, and because I can’t do them it stresses me out! I also find myself doing everything and not completing a single one. With the journal, I’m aware of the crafts I want to complete, and move it to the next month if I haven’t started it. I also just drop it, while I complete something else. It’s so RELAXING!

HERE IT IS:

Since it’s February, I’m showing the current journal. I forgot January had 31 days, so I started the month on Tuesday. I couldn’t rip the page’s out because of this following grid:

This grid idea from here. This site also helped me develop all the things I love about my journal. I made the mistake of using a sharpie ultra fine point and the ink leaked through the pages, ugh.

I also found cheap mini calendar stickies at target (I LOVE Target). This is my Goal sheet and first journal of the month:

January’s journaling helped me identify strengths I feel are beneficial in my parenting, and today I followed through by adding a post it with my plan throughout the month. I also created a page where I can brainstorm how i define, and how I will execute each strength. Here are the pages:

This journal helps get my creativity out and helps me stay away from my phone. Originally I wanted to transfer it to an electronic format, but using a pen and paper really helps ground me and also helps improve my chicken scratch handwriting.

I haven’t added the yearly goals, but, I do have a books to read sheet:

That book list is my favorite! Don’t use that sharpie, unless you have thick pages! I prefer this one:

(affiliate link)

That picture also shows my first January grid. It’s pretty pathetic. I had to switch it to vertical instead of horizontal because my dates did not fit.

This journaling method is adaptive and beneficial. I hope you find it useful and can let me know if you tried it!

Working out. People hate it, others tolerate it, while some people think it’s fun. Pairing exercises with an exhausting Disneyland outing could mean I’m one of the few who is obsessed with it. In reality, I’m not. If I was, I would be 50 pounds lighter.  Disneyland just calls for a workout in certain spots.

During a Disneyland trip, I usually walk around 10,000-15,000 steps. That’s a feat in itself, but the real magic is done  in the secret low traffic areas. When you find the perfect places for yoga, you don’t have to wake up extra early for a full hour practice, or try to cram it in before bed.  Weight training, and lunges don’t have to wait for tomorrow. You can continue your usual routine at the happiest place on earth.

In Fantasy land, there is a walkway that is between Small World and the Story Book Land canal boats. It’s hidden by a fence and some bushes. That walk way is hardly ever used, I can fit in a whole Yoga sequence with only two or three people walking past. It’s heaven! Not only is it deserted, it’s beautiful! The stones make you feel as if though you’re practicing yoga in a medieval castle, with a Maharajah who bestowed the hidden practice to you, and only you. As ludicrous as that may sound, it’s the perfect spot for a little exercise.

California Adventure has the Red Wood Creek Trail, which is amazing. They have rock climbing , nets, and slides, which are great for a core and arm strengthening bout. You can also lunge from one corner to the next. Before you get to the Red Wood Creek, right behind the restrooms, there is a small little secret spot that is surrounded by benches. I use those benches for push ups, and tricep dips. You can do another yoga/pilates sequence there if you’re looking for privacy.  The big hill near the pier is perfect for lunging as well.

Now, you don’t really get a crazy sweaty workout, unless you want to sit next to someone on a ride and disgust them with the salty liquid that comes out of your pores. You can just get resistance training in long enough to keep those muscles growing.

If you really want to work out, Disney offers marathon’s very frequently throughout the year. I’ve never joined one, but, I’m sure they’re great!

These are the secret workout spots I’ve found at Disney. Do you know of any others?