Creative Ideas for the Kids Holiday Table

I actually loved being at the kids table for holiday meals. We got sparkling grape juice in miniature wine goblets and tried to eat as many marshmallows off the sweet potatoes without eating any actual vegetables. But maybe that's just me. Our kids like being where the action is with the grownups, but when our big table is full, they too get sent over to the kids table. So I thought I'd come up with a few fun ways to keep them entertained and happy about it. Head over to the International Arrivals blog to see what I've got cooking—including a free holiday color-in placemat to download! 

DIY Trick or Treat Bag!

Every year the kids beg for a store bought plastic trick or treat pail. And while I admire that they usually do a good job of coordinating it with their costume, it ALWAYS breaks. Always. So this year I decided we'd take things into our own hands and make a sturdy set that was still super cute. Head over to the International Arrivals blog to see how we used fabulous fabric markers to get the job done PLUS pickup a free printable design download to make your own!!

p.s. for those of you not in the know, International Arrivals makes fun and unique crafting and creation tools that allow people to express themselves with their creativity. We are looooongtime fans of their Lil' Watercolor Paint Pods, so were super excited to try out some of their other products. Thanks for the fabric markers IA!!

Star Wars Day Printables: May the 4th Be With You!

If you have any little Star Wars fans in your house, you surely know that tomorrow is Star Wars Day! In case this is news to you, here's a great roundup of easy (and mostly free!) printables to help your kiddos celebrate the day. May the 4th be with you!!

1 / 2 / 3

4 / 5 / 6

7 / 8 / 9  

p.s. these are not free, but I had to share our success with the Star Wars workbook series. If you have a kiddo reticent to work on grade skills, give these a try. They've worked wonders for Kane! 

Holiday Giveaway for the Procrastinators! (over)

You know who you are. Still need to pick up a few items for the holidays? Well we've got you covered with a little help from The Land of Nod. We're gearing up for the cold weather that's sure to come (although it was 55 in DC again today!) and arming ourselves with lots of indoor activities that still get the kids moving and keep their brains engaged! To help you do the same, one lucky reader will win BOTH the Beanbag Toss Up Game and Don't Let the Blocks Drop Game from The Land of Nod.

To be eligible to win, you must:

1. leave a comment on this blog post telling us who would be the lucky recipient of the games, and include your email so I can get ahold of you; AND
2. like Not-So-SAHM on Facebook (if you haven't already). 

I will pick a winner on Friday, December 19th at 10 am EST. 

Good luck!!!

This giveaway has ended. Congrats to SugarB for winning the games! 

Easy DIY Halloween Activities

It's here, it's here! Happy Halloween!!! If your kids are anything like mine, their excitement for today has been building up for quite some time and they are all ready with their costumes, just waiting for the green light to trick-or-treat. I love the whole crazy thing, but then .... sugar crash city. The begging for more candy while melting down from the whirlwind. So I thought I'd pull together some super easy (FREE!) printable activities that you can have at the ready for the post-sugar crash lull before bedtime. Hope you and yours have a spooky, fun holiday!

1 / Super cute paper cute Halloween dress up dolls.

2 / Love this spooky thaumotrope toy. 

3 / A giant haunted house coloring sheet.

4 / Put that candy to good use with a little game of bingo.

5 / If you can't get this pin a bow tie on the skeleton game printed out ahead of time, just print out a regular size at home.

6 / A scary cats game for the younger kiddos.

7 / The Pre-K set will like this pack of Halloween activities.

8 / Try these shadow makers in the glow of a jack o'lantern.

9 / A set of three Halloween Mad Libs. 

Back to School! Breakfast

Happy back-to-school day!!! (well for us anyway). We were all so excited to get back that we had a little celebration last week. Head on over to Honest to Nod today to check out our back to school! breakfast and our hilarious interview answers.

ps .... and head over to A Feteful Life for your own free printable interview!

Disclosure: The Land of Nod provided us with Meri Meri partyware and a growth chart in exchange for this post. No other compensation was provided and all opinions herein are our own.

Keep It Local: Strathmore Backyard Theater for Children + GIVEAWAY!!!

Honestly, I feel as though we drafted a bum Summer Bucket List this year. Because some of the coolest new things we've done aren't even on there (and you know that deprives mom of the satisfaction of crossing things off that list!), including Strathmore's Backyard Theater for Children. Each summer, Strathmore puts on a set of fabulous theater, music and dancing for kids right in its own backyard, under a comfortable tent, complete with free snowcones! I mean, you know we would have gone just for the snowcones, but we loved the Mister G: ABC Fiesta show Strathmore kindly gave us tickets to see.

Now we both like to play it cool. I told mom "I'm really not into doing hand motions, clapping, participating .... you know," but by the end of the show, we were both flapping our pretend insect wings and buzzing along to the music (we were still too cool to get up on stage, though. thank goodness they gave away sunglasses to perpetuate the cool). Mister (and Mrs.) G did a great job of getting everyone participating in their bilingual tunes and we insisted mom buy some CDs at the end. And a kind person fudged the "one snowcone per person" rule for us and we finagled our way into each getting a cherry and a raspberry ice.

But you have no excuse not to go. First, because we're telling you. And, second, because we're giving away a family four-pack of tickets to see one of the remaining three shows of the season! Check out the schedule right here and then follow Rafflecopter link at the end of the post and enter to win. You can earn points to win by two ways:

(1) liking the Not-So-SAHM Facebook page (earns you 2 points); and/or
(2) commenting on this post (earns you 1 point)

BUT all entries must be made through the Rafflecopter to count (otherwise it makes randomly picking a winner difficult)!

You have until 12 pm on Monday, July 14th to get your entries in. Don't miss out!

THE CONTEST IS OVER -- CONGRATS LIZ R. FOR THE WIN! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Miscellaneous Madness: Cloud Viewing and Classification (and a freebie)

Among the 50+ items on our Summer Bucket List is the activity "finding shapes in clouds." Seems simple enough, right? So obviously mom had to make it more complicated and turn it into a science lesson. First, she decided to make our very own cloud viewers. She'd seen a few floating around the web and designed up a handheld viewing window that includes photos of all the basic cloud shapes. With a chopstick handle, of course.

Once those were ready, Cam and mom hit up the library to check out a few books about clouds, including "Clouds," by Maryellen Gregoire (the simplest and a good one to start with); "Clouds," by Trudi Strain Trueit (the best of the batch -- for kids, but included enough detail to really cover all cloud types); and "the kids' book of Clouds & Sky," by Frank Staub (more detailed and probably for a slightly older age group of kids, but interesting nonetheless).

We packed up our viewers, a picnic and our books and headed over to our local Meridian Hill Park for some cloud viewing. It was hotter than H outside, but we still scored a spot in the shade with a good window through the tree branches for spotting clouds. There was really only one type of cloud gracing the sky that day: big puffy marshmallow cumulus clouds. So we ditched the viewers and took to finding shapes: dragons, butterflies, turtles, etc.

When the local squirrels started to form a posse for our pistachios, we decided it was time to pack up and check out the park's waterfalls. Mistake. Out of the shade it was about 110 degrees (seriously). Turns out cloud viewing is good for a hot day because you aren't moving. We should've stayed put, but didn't dare challenge those city squirrels.

Want to check out some clouds, too? You can make your own cloud viewing window! Mom uploaded our template to google docs (CLICK HERE), so all you have to do is print it on heavy cardstock, cut it out (don't forget to cut out the middle window!), and tape on whatever handle you wish. Mom also put a layer of packing tape over ours to make them a bit sturdier and waterproof. Much like the hidden murals, now that we're in the know, we can't stop looking for and classifying clouds. Come to think of it, we might need an extra travel cloud viewer.