kids activities Archives - Page 6 of 12

My Little Pony and Pirate Pool Birthday Party

By sunshineandholly on September 6, 2018

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When it comes to the kids’ birthday parties, I feel like we’ve done it all. We’ve done the super-cute Pinterest party, the easy/simple at-home party, the expensive kid’s play-place party.

I’m thinking the only thing left to try is the “hire a party planner and have them do the set-up and clean-up” type party. Maybe next year!

This year, we did a joint My Little Pony and Pirate Pool Party for the kids. They both have September birthdays, so joint parties will be a norm until they specifically request their own parties. Graham was dying to use a pirate pinata we had leftover from his birthday party two years ago, so he wanted a pirate theme. And Maddie is obsessed with My Little Ponies, so that’s what she picked.

I kept things really simple with decorations from Party City, food from Costco, and cakes from Publix. I didn’t make any cute Pinterest-y things this year. But I think the party turned out great anyway!

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family | food | kids activities | motherhood | parenting

10 Tips for Raising a Healthy Happy Eater

By sunshineandholly on August 8, 2018

My kids are (thankfully) pretty good eaters. My son, in particular, loves trying new foods! He likes kale, spinach, sushi, raw oysters, quinoa, and lots of other foods that typically aren’t considered “kid-friendly.” Any time I post pictures or videos of my kids eating different kinds of food, other moms will ask, “What did you do to get your kids to try new foods? My kids won’t eat anything!”

The truth?

I got lucky. I don’t really think it was anything I actually did. My husband and I both love food. In fact, I have a really hard time thinking of foods I don’t like! Maybe our kids have a genetic predisposition to love food like we do? Ha!

But looking back, I guess there are a few things I did over the years to get my kids to try new, healthy foods.

10 Tips for Raising a Healthy Happy Eater

1. We (usually) sit down as a family to eat.

Confession time – I really don’t enjoy eating with my kids. They’re messy, loud, don’t stay seated, and tend to ask me for a million things (usually right after I sit down). Mealtime together as a family isn’t exactly relaxing. But I know how important it is to eat together as much as possible. Family meals strengthen relationships, build self-esteem, instill a sense of belonging, and are great opportunities for parents to set examples of healthy eating.

4 Nut and Dairy Free Ideas for School Lunch

By sunshineandholly on July 20, 2018

This post may contain affiliate links. Purchasing through them helps support this website. (Click on the pictures to shop the links.)

Disclaimer: I was provided with free product from Stuck on You in return for my honest review. All thoughts an opinions are my own.

I know we’re still deep in the thick of summer, especially those of us here in the south where the temperature is way above “glistening” and on to full “sweating.” But back-to-school time will be here before we know it! My son is starting Kindergarten this year and I’m so excited for him. He’s going to an amazing charter school with a wonderful community of teachers and parents. We’ve already had a couple of play-dates and a family picnic this summer to get to know people.

His new school is nut-free, and we’ve also cut out almost all dairy from our diet. So school lunches have been on my brain. My son eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost every single day. (In fact, when he was 2, his teacher at preschool told me he cried that day during lunch when he saw he had a ham sandwich instead of peanut butter!) Needless to say, I’ve been preparing him so that he’ll know he won’t get to have his beloved pb&j at school anymore, but he can have it at home! And I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of healthy, filling school lunches that don’t include dairy or nuts.

Here are a few ideas I’ve come up with so far:

4 Nut and Dairy Free Ideas for School Lunch

Mediterranean favors fill this lunch box. My kids love hummus almost as much as I do, so I know this lunch will be a hit.

Steel City Pops – the BEST Popsicles in Atlanta (Plus a fun kids activity!)

By sunshineandholly on June 27, 2018

UPDATE: I’m so sad to say that our Decatur Steel City Pops location has closed as of November 2019. We sure will miss these yummy pops! If you’re looking for other fun kid-friendly things to do in Decatur, click here!

This post was sponsored by Steel City Pops, but all opinions are my own!

Imagine this:

A sweet and tangy buttermilk popsicle dipped in decadent dark chocolate, sprinkled with crunchy chocolate cookie crumbs, and drizzled with smooth and creamy caramel sauce…

How about a coffee flavored popsicle with a chocolate brownie hidden inside, dipped in creamy milk chocolate, drizzled with dense dark chocolate, and dusted with espresso…

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5 Summer Break Survival Tips

By sunshineandholly on June 8, 2018

Bad-mom confession: for the past few years I have dreaded the summer. As soon as the end-of-the-school-year activities start, and the “countdown ’til summer” begins, I would start thinking about all those long summer days alone with my kids with no “mom-breaks” or me-time. I’d feel a pit in my stomach. My anxiety would skyrocket. I would frantically start pinning summer crafts and activities on Pinterest.

“What am I going to do with these kids all summer long?!?!?!”

The old saying that goes, “the days are long, but the years are short” is especially true for stay-at-home moms during the summer. Those summer days are looooooong! It’s hard to keep the kids entertained. I know all the experts say, “Let them be bored! It’s good for them!” But those experts aren’t with my kids for hours and hours at a time. I spend all summer breaking up fights, refereeing arguments, cleaning up millions of messes, and fixing snacks after snacks after snacks after snacks. Sure, naptime can be a reprieve for some moms. But my kids have never been big on naptime. And trying to get them to stay in their rooms for “quiet time” is more work for me than it’s worth.

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