SlimeTime

We are a few weeks into Summer here and our days have been carefree and easy. Will's favorite thing to ask me when I tuck him in at night is "what are we doing tomorrow", and it's been fun planning our days together. He gets so excited about the little things and is always up for an adventure, whatever it may be. I have a huge list of indoor activities I want to do with Will and Kate this Summer and the first on our list!? SLIME TIME!

WE HAVE ARRIVED and we are becoming slime making experts around here. Perhaps we have a future selling this stuff on YouTube like the cool kids!? We made our first batches last week and Will is loving this stuff. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about the mess but we have had zero slime hair disasters so far so I'm calling it a success.

Mixing it up has been the most fun for Will. He likes to pour the glue, add his coloring and dump in the baking soda. When that's all mixed up, I add the contact solution a little at a time. This is a great rainy day activity for your little ones. We've had our slime in ziploc freezer bags for a week now and it's still just as good as the day we made it! This is the recipe from Elmer's Glue and I followed it exactly the first time. It came out a little too hard so I added less contact lens solution- the most random ingredient of all- and the result was much better. 

Elmer's Glue Slime

12 oz. Elmer's glue

1.5 Tbsp. baking soda

food coloring

3 Tbsp. contact lens solution

In a large plastic bowl, dump glue. Stir in baking soda and food coloring until combined.

Add contact solution, one Tablespoon at a time, making sure to mix quickly. The mixture will become hard to stir and this is when the slime forms. I have found that about 2.5 tablespoons of contact solution is just the right amount. Slime will form into a ball- remove from the bowl and knead a few minutes to get it to the right consistency. Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag. 

For more recipes, it's Slime Central over on the Elmer's website! 

Friday Faves: Christmas Books for Kids!

December is here and we are ready! I've been making things merry and bright around here all week long and we are headed to get a tree tomorrow. I can't wait! I picked up some fresh garland on a whim for our mantle and I'm IN LOVE with how it looks. It's so fresh and elegant and smells AMAZING. I stuck in some eucalyptus leaves and placed gold and silver ornaments for a little sparkle and it all turned out even better that I envisioned. This time of year is just the best.

One of the first things I take out at the beginning of the Christmas season are our Christmas books!  Will and Kate LOVE books and I don't think we could ever have enough. Christmas books are no exception and Will was especially excited when I pulled out all of our favorites this week to add to our nightly reading rotation. Here are some of our very favorites! 

1. Llama Llama Jingle Bells

2. Biscuit's Pet and Play Christmas

3. Bear Stays Up For Christmas

4. The Night Before Christmas

5. My First Christmas Story

6. Little Blue Truck's Christmas

Happy reading to your little ones!! xo

Favorite Apps for Baby + Toddler

As much as I hate to admit, there are snippets of technology that just make my life as a mom easier. I love hearing what apps other moms love, so I'm here today to share mine. What did our parents do when we were young!? How did our moms track feedings or know when we should nap. And did they even know what a "leap" was!?

The Wonder Weeks ($1.99)- I swear this app made it seem like there was a hidden camera in my house! It was recommended to me by several friends after Will was born and I've loved having it to reference again with Kate. This app tracks the mental leaps that babies make and the information is so, so helpful. Baby's age is calculated in the app based on his/her due date. Whenever something would seem "off" with Will or Kate, this was my first reference. The "leap alarms" seemed to always come when I feel like I'm about to lose all patience. By far one of my most favorite baby apps! 

Moms on Call Scheduler ($3.99)- This app is a great guideline for getting your baby on a schedule. I didn't follow it to a "t", but I was pretty close. It has great sample schedules and basic information like how many ounces baby should be taking, number of naps, etc. I loved this app for a quick reference, especially during the first 6 months when you are just trying to figure it all out. The Moms on Call book was also extremely helpful.  

Johnson & Johnson Bedtime (FREE)- I downloaded this app on a fluke, but it houses Will's favorite version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and it's now Kate's. This is really all that I use it for (the lullabies), but there is also a build in sound machine and a sleep tracking feature. 

iBaby Feed Timer ($4.99)- THE BEST! Another lifesaver when baby is eating ALL. THE. TIME. and your life revolves around tracking feedings. I guess our moms survived without something like this but I'm thankful I didn't have to find out what that was like! The timer is my favorite feature, as well as being able to note which side to start on next if you're nursing. You can also track sleep and diapers.

The Bump (FREE)- This is more a pregnancy app, but also useful after the baby is born. It sends weekly alerts with basic info on baby's milestones and what they may be doing that week. I loved getting weekly updates when I was pregnant and love getting them now as Kate grows up! 

PBS Kids Video (FREE)- This is Will's favorite and easy for him to navigate! I save this for long car rides when necessary. Curious George, Daniel Tiger, Sesame Street...the gang's all here on this one!

Elmo Calls ($1.99)- This one doesn't need to be hooked into wifi and is so fun for kids! Everyone loves Elmo.

YouTube Kids (FREE)- YouTube is my go to for Baby Einstein! Will is also now smart enough to navigate these things on his own and YouTube Kids is a censored version of YouTube that ensures anything he clicks on is kid friendly! 

Reindeer Cam ($0.99)- Because when Christmas rolls around, we like to see what's going on in the North Pole. Seriously though, Will LOVED this last Christmas and I know that he will have even more fun with it this year. 

For educational technology, Will has a LeapFrog epic that he got for Christmas. It's a little advanced for him but there are a few activities on it that he understands and they all teach him something. Additionally, here's a great list of Toddler apps from Parents.com. I'm definitely going to be checking some of these out!