A Simple Thank You

I am a big believer in sending thank you notes. They not only show that you are grateful for the gift, or gesture, or time, or small act of kindness, or person, or whatever, but it also shows the person that you are willing to put some time and effort into showing that gratitude. Plus, it's nice to get something other the bills in the mail.

I am trying to teach my sons the importance of being grateful for what they have, so they send thank you notes too. Until very recently none of my children were actually able to write a thank you note, but that didn't get them out of sending little notes of thanks. Typically I write their words for them, or hold their little hands to help them form the letter all the while saying the shape that I am making.

To get the kids in on the act so that they are showing their thanks in their own way, I simply put a large piece of blank paper in front of them and let them go to town. Sometimes they use crayons, sometimes markers, in the most recent case, for their Christmas thank you cards, they used paint that Santa brought them.

Here is Ben's masterpiece:

And Max's on the left:

I then cut the paper into card shapes and we write the notes together. 

I like to think that the act of giving thanks is rubbing off on them. Last year Ben wrote this sweet little message on his new chalkboard.

And Max spent most of Christmas morning thanking Santa. 

I also hope that these little homemade cards are creating small moments of joy in the people who receive them. 

Do you still send thank you cards? Do you have your kids send them? If you have young kids, How do you get around the whole inability to write part? 

Homemade Magnet Board

The Dare to DIY link party is hosted by Kim at Newlywoodwards, Cassie at Primitive and Proper, Michelle at Decor and the Dog and Rachel at Maybe Matilda. Thanks Ladies!

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This is the story of how my simple idea of creating my 2 1/2 year old a magnet board turned into a week long project...because I tend to go WAY overboard every time.

Here is the board:

Here is the story:
A few weeks ago I saw these on Zulilly and thought, "the boys will LOVE them!

So I bought them envisioning the 6 year old practicing his spelling and the 2 1/2 year old working on his letter identification. (Yes, I am a teacher. These are the things I get excited about.) Immediately after this daydreaming session I realized that I had no idea where the boys would use these fun magnets. We already have letter magnets on our fridge and the clutter DRIVES ME CRAZY so I really didn't want to add to it.

I quickly searched Pinterest for ideas and saw a TON of huge oil drip pans used as magnet boards SO cool and easy! But, not quite what I was looking for. Then I realized that I could make a more custom board really easily using the magnetic primer that I used last year on the boys' Giant Chalkboard and Train/Lego Table. I knew my next step would be to get something to paint on, so I ran to HD and grabbed a large rectangle of MDF and some more magnetic primer.

 

Luckily I had some experience with this primer so I knew that the key to success was to shake it up REALLY, REALLY well and then shake it some more. If you don't all the metallic particles will sit at the bottom and you will just be priming your board with black paint that isn't magnetic (yes, I did that last year. GRRR). I also know that the paint is SUPER thick and you kind of feel like you are slopping it on but that is okay. 

The paint can says to apply two or three coats to make a magnet stick. My tip is to have a magnet with you to check out how magnetic your board is and then decide if you need another coat. From my experience it will take at least three coats. I did four on this project.

While the paint was drying, I raided my leftover paint cans in the basement. Originally I toyed with the idea of leaving it black like the giant chalkboard, but this was going to live in Max's room so I wanted it to be a little different for him. I found three cans of paint in different shades of blue. 

Sherwin Williams Northstar, a bluish gray which happens to be our master bedroom color, Respite, a bright denim color that Ben picked out when we first moved in, (It has since been painted over because it was too blue...it took less than a year for that to happen) and Sailboat by BEHR which was the water color on the train train/Lego table. 

My plan was to create a gradient color for the board. By putting the darkest color (Sailboat) at the bottom and the lightest (Northstar) at the top, I was hoping that it would look a little like sea and sky. 

I also toyed with painting a chalkboard near the bottom so that Max could work on writing his letters. That idea was quickly nixed when he did this:

Yes, that is chalk and, yes, that is our couch. I guess it looked like a big canvas for him to express himself. The first time he did it, I kept my cool and explained about chalk only being for chalkboards and driveways. When he did it a second time I had a Mommy meltdown. There might have been a little a lot of yelling and a quick trip to his bedroom for time out (It wasn't my finest moment). Suffice it to say, he will not be allowed to have chalk (or any other writing utensils) in his room unsupervised. I can always add a square of chalkboard paint when he gets a little older.

Here is the first coat with the blue color. Since the magnet primer is black, I knew I would need more than one coat. I was worried that too many coats would make it less magnetic so I ended up doing three and sanding lightly between each coat to try to knock back the paint a little. I didn't blend the colors until the third coat.

While the paint was drying on the board, I ran to HD again (trip number 2 for this project) and grabbed some moulding that I will use to frame out the board. Then I put three coats of red spray paint on it.

When the paint dried I measured my painted board and decided how much of the board I wanted my moulding to cover (I opted for four inches which left a little overhang) and then cut 45 degree angles for my "picture frame." This is the first time I have done this. I even set up the saw myself which is a huge deal because it COMPLETELY freaks me out. But I did it, and only had to make one correction cut. It was WAY easier than I thought. I just made sure to measure and remeasure, and dry fit as I went to make sure each piece worked where I wanted it to.

I used Liquid Nails adhesive to attach the moulding to the board because I didn't want to deal with nails and filling the holes and repainting.

And here she is again in all her glory! I feel like I should name her. Any ideas?

I also ordered this set of foam magnets to add to the board. Max can use these picture magnets to make up stories or spell out the words of the pictures on the magnets. He could also sort the magnets into different categories (the kid is a sorting fool).

Sorry that I don't have a pretty finished picture. I can't put the board up in Max's room until he gets it for Christmas, so for now it is on the floor in the basement, although I leaned it up against the door for you guys! I am also going to add some small hooks (probably of the Command strip variety) to the underside of the moulding to hang small pails so that Max can store the magnets he isn't using in them. I will update this post after Christmas so you can see it all pretty and hanging in his room!

Advent Adventures - Decorate a tree

 This one could have gone SO many ways.

Originally I was planning on bringing the boys to Target and letting them pick from the collection of 2' tinsel trees. They come in pink, blue, silver, and gold. They were also going to pick from the lights, mini ornaments, tree skirts, and toppers available for these mini trees. When they had decided what they wanted we were going to go home, decorate the trees, add our own original ornaments, and then put the trees in their rooms as decorations.

Obviously this little rendezvous could have gotten a little expensive and having a mini tree in my two year olds' room may have spelled disaster for his curious little hands. So I put that idea in my back pocket for when the boys get a little older.

I then decided that the kids could pick one of the evergreen trees in our yard and decorate the tree for the birds and animals. I envisioned popcorn and cranberries and bird seed ornaments (you know pine cones with peanut butter, birdseed mixed up into blocks and cut into shapes with cookie cutters, that type of thing).

This idea was nixed because stringing popcorn and cranberries requires a needle and patience which means that I will undoubtedly be doing most of the work. Also, I was afraid that there would be other animals, like deer, that would find their way into our yard and I didn't want to encourage these lovable creatures to eat our new trees.

My third idea was the winner for this year. Christmas trees made out of sugar cones, decorated similar to gingerbread houses. Genius, right? The kids could choose the candy they wanted to use and make their tree completely their own.

Of course, they chose the most expensive candy..oh well.

My 6 year old took these pictures. Please keep that in mind...

First, I put a ring of frosting on a plate to hold the cone in place.

Then I put the frosting around the cone as I rotated the plate.

And here is what it looked like when I was done. Looks like a tree, right? Easy!

Next it was up to the kids to add their touch. Of course, they had to taste test the product before adding it to their trees.

Here they are all finished. Unfortunately, I didn't prepare for the fact that my two year old would have a COMPLETE meltdown when I told him he would have to wait until after dinner to eat his tree. (Yes, I let them eat one tree...don't judge.)

Of course, Ben wasn't sure how to actually eat his tree, so he decided the no hands method was the best option.

Next year, I will do this one with gingerbread houses (made out of graham crackers to make it easier) so that the decorating will last a little longer. 

I would also LOVE to try one of the other decorate a tree ideas. Maybe one year will make the difference in what the boys can handle on this one. Have you had any food decorating adventures in your house yet this year?

A Few of My Favorite Things...for the boys

So, I thought that I would share a few of my kids favorite things in case you are searching for ideas for the holiday season. As you will see I do have some "go to" brands (I bet you will be able to guess which ones) and stores. This is just a partial list, but I hope it helps if you are stuck for ideas.

I try to get things that the boys can use right away, so all of the fun outdoor toys typically wait until their birthdays in the spring. It isn't that I don't love outdoor toys, I just feel bad getting the boys things that they can't actually use for four or five months. Maybe I will do a spring update to this post later on.

For more active indoor play the boys love...

**Ride in cars**

The boys use these in the basement and garage. Ben was obsessed with these cars when he was two or three, now Max loves them too.

1. Little Tikes Cozy Coupe available at Amazon, Yoyo, and pretty much everywhere else.  Oh, and check out the new styles they have. So cute! 

2. Fisher-Price Fire Truck Ride-On

**Ride-ons**

If you have a smaller house, ride-ons like this are also used on a daily basis in our home. The boys like to race them. Be warned, however, if you have hardwood floors they may scratch them up. We have relegated ours to the carpeted rooms and basement.

3. Mickey Plane Ride-On Toy

**Indoor Basketball**

4.SKLZ Pro Mini Basketball Hoop

**Crafts**

Although the boys aren't big into crafting, I can get them to spend fifteen or twenty minutes with crayons and big paper. Usually they throw themselves on the floor and color away. If I am feeling adventurous I may even let them paint.

5. Melissa & Doug Easel Paper Pad

6. Clementine Art Crayons

7. Melissa & Doug Jumbo Paint Brushes (set of 4)

8. Crayola Washable Kids Paint set of 10 Bottles (2 fl oz/59mL)

**Quiet Toys**

9. Melissa and Doug Latches Board

10. Melissa and Doug Giant Fire Truck Floor Puzzle

11. Soft Cars by B. Wheeee-ls

**Family Games**

12. Spot It Games 
13. Cariboo
14. Curious George Discovery Beach

There are SO many more toys that the boys enjoy, these are just a few that I seem to like just as much as they do.