Instead we have had fun making a few chick crafts, like these super cute cotton ball chicks, perfect for pretend play.

We also had fun making a simple hand print chick craft.  Whether you’re looking for Easter crafts for preschoolers or just a fun spring craft, your little one will love this simple craft.

This simple hand print craft is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Hand Print Chick Craft

Materials Needed:

• Yellow Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Glue Stick
• Orange Paper
• Markers or Crayons

For very young children, cut large egg shapes out ahead of time.  These will become the chick’s bodies.

For older preschoolers try drawing the shape and having them cut it out on their own.

Then trace their hands for wings.   Once they are cut out, use a glue stick to attach them to the chick’s body.

Add orange paper beaks and draw on eyes.

This preschooler chick craft is super simple and looks so cute on the doors.

Be sure to also check out:

• Adorable Bunny Crafts for Spring
• 20 Adorable Sheep and Lamb Crafts
• 10 Easter Crafts for Preschoolers 

The post Preschooler Chick Craft first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

But I’m happy to say things turned around.

Even though the cake was falling apart (I should have put it in the freezer before icing it!), it all worked out – after all, it was a construction cake!  (Last year’s was a car cake – see a theme?)

Monkey got to open presents from Mommy, Daddy, and big sister before the party festivities began.  He loved the pirate ship!  (A super great find at a consignment shop – all parts there and an extra set of pirate sea animals all for 6 bucks!)

Thinking back to what I learned from a birthday party, the kids and I had colored and cut out construction trucks from coloring books earlier this week  to use in a craft/game when the party started while we waited for all the guests to arrive.

The activity?

Help decorate for the party!

I was kept plenty busy sticking tape on the back of pictures for little ones to stick anywhere they wanted – cabinets, doors, walls, lamp shades…  They did a great job decorating!  (Little ones love anything having to do with tape, and when they feel they are really helping, all the better!)

Once all the guests arrived it was time for lunch. (Thank you to my husband, who cooked out in the rain!)  And, of course, more presents…  I have to say he loved everything he got.

A friend of mine sent up a tool bench, complete with all its original tools, that her sons no longer use.  And with it, was this handy-dandy little number…

That, dear readers, is a toy blow torch.  No kidding – who would have guessed that there is such a thing???  It lights up, makes an obnoxious noise, and vibrates.  What more could a 3 year-old little boy want?

Cake!

Yes, being 3 today did not make him any more patient than when he was 2.  It was definitely cake time.

I want to send a big shout out to a friend of mine who helped keep kids entertained and wiped black icing from my son’s fingers when I sat down to try a piece of the cake.  Everyone needs someone like that at their kid’s birthday party!

Finally, after everyone went home and dinner was done, it was time for bed.

My big 3 year-old asked me to rock him.  How could I resist?  I rocked him for a while and sang some old favorites.  Then he climbed into bed and fell asleep holding on to the sleeve of my pajamas while I stroked his hair and hummed his lullaby.

That, dear reader, was the perfect ending to the day.

The post My Little Boy Turned 3 first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

The other day as I tucked him into bed he told me, “Don’t like my bed…It’s too rusty.”

His bed is wood – I’m assuming he chose the word rusty because it’s brown.  When I pointed out the fact that his bed is wooden and not “rusty,” he said, “Don’t want a wood bed.  I want a p’astic (plastic) one!”

I got a kick out of that one, and thought all the funny was done for the night.

But it got even better.

His eyelids were growing heavy as I sang his lullaby.  That’s when he started poking my arm.

”  ‘uubies,” he said, a slight smile on his face.

I probably shouldn’t have said anything, but I acknowledged him and told him, “Rubies are a red stone.”

“No,” he laughed.  “Boobies.  You have boobies.”

“Yes,” I said and returned to singing.   Of course, by then he was starting to get his second wind.

“Where are they?” he asked.

I told them they were under my shirt, to which he said he wanted to see them.

Yes, I should have ignored ‘uubies from the start….

But, then I had to ask him why he wanted to see them… To which he replied, “I love boobies!”

I admit it, I had to lay my head down on the bed so he wouldn’t see me laughing.

What funny things have your little ones said at bedtime?

The post Funny Things Said at Bedtime first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

With the warmer weather bringing all kinds of animals out, I thought we’d make a few of our favorite animals with this paper plate turtle craft.

As a bonus, you can easily turn this preschool craft into turtle puppets.

Paper Plate Turtle Craft

Materials Needed:

• Paper Plates
• Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Markers or Crayons
• Glue or Clear Tape

For each turtle you will need to cut 4 chunky legs, a lightbulb-shaped head, and a tail out of brown or green construction paper.

For toddlers you can cut these pieces out ahead of time.

For preschoolers you can draw them and then let them practice scissor skills by cutting the pieces out.

Once all the pieces are cut out, have your child flip the paper plate over and glue or tape the pieces in place.

If you want to turn the paper plate turtle into a puppet, cut a 1 inch thick strip of thin cardboard (a cereal box is perfect) to become the handle.  Fold the ends and tape it to the middle of the bottom of the paper plate.

Now comes the fun part!

Have your child decorate the turtle’s shell with crayons or markers.

You might have older kids try to decorate it in a pattern.  With younger kids you can just let them get artistic.

They can also draw eyes and a mouth on the turtle’s head.

When they are finished they will have lots of fun playing with their paper plate turtle puppets.   Mine had fun making the turtles “crawl” on the floor, wiggle and dance, and in the case of my son’s turtle craft, drive toy trucks.

You may also like these posts:

• Shape Stick Puppets 
• Hand Print Sheep
• Dog Crafts 

The post Paper Plate Turtle Puppets first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

I haven’t written a Manic Monday post in a long time.  Not because my kids became perfect angels one day, just because I was focussing on other things.

But I am one for irony… You see, I just shared this past Manic Monday post with some bloggy friends.  I smiled as I remembered that day and the things that would sometimes happen when I was in the shower, until I discovered my magic shower combination, that is.

And then this weekend happened.

Being a little older now, there are times I leave the kids playing in the living room while I take my quick shower.  I usually leave them with, “No hitting, biting, screaming, or fighting…”  And usually things go fine.  Yes, sometimes I step out and they can’t wait to tell me what the other one did.  And once my daughter greeted me with a comb she had twirled and gotten stuck in her hair.  But these past few months I haven’t stepped out of the shower to face a mess.  So I wasn’t expecting what happened when I jumped in the shower while my husband was picking up a few things outside…

I was just stepping out of the shower when my husband poked his head in the bathroom and said, “Oh, you’re done?  I was hoping we could stick this one in there with you.”

I grabbed my glasses (because I can’t see two inches from my face without them) to see what he was talking about.  There was my son, covered with powdered chocolatey goodness.  “Chocolate!” he said, grinning at me.

That’s when his big sister ran in to show me that the bottoms of her feet were covered in chocolate.  (Yes, she had just ran through the carpeted living room and hallway, leaving little footprints in her wake.)

Evidently they had found the Ovaltine in the cabinet.  And evidently, now that they are older (and bigger and stronger), they can now open the Ovaltine container.  (This is why as a parent, child-proofing is NEVER finished.  They just keep getting stronger and smarter!)

Of course, I had to have my husband grab the camera and snap a picture of my little guy before I tossed him and his big sister in the tub.  (After all, have to have some proof of his mischievousness when he’s older.)  Then I set about wiping chocolate finger prints from the walls and little footprints from the floors.

And the Ovaltine?

Sounded good, so I made myself a glass of chocolate milk and put the Ovaltine container in a higher cabinet.  Pretty soon my bottom cabinet will be empty.What funny things have happened when you’ve tried to get a shower with little ones running about?

The post More Ovaltine, Please! first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

A few minutes later I see the bathroom light flick on, and I stumble out of bed to investigate.

“You didn’t poop your pants,” I hear the husband tell him quietly.  He fills me in that little guy keeps saying he pooped his bed.

I take another step to help calm him down, and then I smell it.

“I smell puke,” I say.

The husband goes back to the little guy’s bedroom and turns on the light.  “Oh…”  (Turns out little Monkey was trying to tell Daddy he puked in his bed, not pooped…”

The next few hours were a blur of trying to calm him down about his beloved stuffed Lightning McQueen that was in need of a good washing, singing to him, and trying to get him comfy on the reclining loveseat so that he might fall back asleep.  (He would not sleep in his bed without his stuffed buddy, and I just wanted him to get some rest.)

A short time before 5 a.m. he was finally asleep, with his head hanging off the edge of the couch and me too afraid I might wake him to move him.

5 a.m. big sister wakes up to use the bathroom.  I wait, hoping husband will hear her and help her back to bed.  No such luck.  I weigh the consequences:  leave her alone and hope she doesn’t start crying or yelling for someone, which will no doubt wake her brother, or try to slide off the loveseat without waking him so I can help her.  I go for the latter, and thankfully he stays asleep.

Of course the upside to this is that I can also pee, which I’d been needing to do for an hour or so.

I finally start to doze when the husband wakes to go to work.  I rouse myself to give him the low-down, spray out the puke bowl with some Lysol (that HAS to improve the smell of the room), and head back to the loveseat, an expert now at sliding in and out without waking my poor Monkey.

I shut my eyes for a blessed 30 minutes before the preschooler re-awakens, this time for the day.  I slip out to greet her, let her know she needs to be quiet, and fix her her favorite peach oats.

***

Somehow I have survived the day without being too cranky with the little ones.  I am crossing my fingers that Monkey’s tummy troubles stem from his drinking water from the water table last night, which he had been adding potting soil to, trying to create mud.  If not, then hopefully this stomach bug will leave our household quickly, without too much drama.

Here’s hoping your weekend is off to a better start!

P.S.  Here is real joy:

The post Going on One Hour of Sleep… first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.