“My Pink Crocs” by Emily, my 4-year-old

Are you running out of ideas to keep the kids busy/happy at home this summer? Yeah, me too. But here’s my latest idea. One which I stumbled on by accident.

It seems to be good for about 20 minutes of peace and quiet (a virtual lifetime in mommy world.)

Idea: I give the kids my old digital camera (you’ll see why I italicized “digital” later) and tell them to have fun with it.

A few rules:

• make sure your little ones are past the I-like-to-flush-electronics-down-the-toilet stage (about age 4 or 5 and you should be in the clear)
• tell them to take pictures of their favorite things around the house, including pets and people
• put it on Auto mode so they don’t have to worry about focusing
• tell them they must take turns being the photographer (mine need practice at this)
• give them a 20-minute time limit

When they’re done, upload the pictures right away and see what you’ve got.

To be honest, you’ll end up with a bunch of unrecognizable images (but digital cameras allow you to delete), a few hilarious photos (good for a few laughs) and one or two really amazing shots. The photograph above was taken when our family had been at an all-day picnic at our friends’ house. My daughter was cranky and ready to leave but the rest of us were still having fun and wanted to stay. So I gave her my camera to keep her busy.

The resulting, My Pink Crocs, is one of my favorite photos of all time. 

Give it a try if you dare. Beware, kids are low to the ground and if you end up as one of their subjects, it may result in some unflattering thigh and butt shots. Been there — again, thank goodness for digital and the delete button.

Love Your Home and GO STEELERS!  The first pre-season game starts RIGHT NOW,
Sue

Wonder if I’m obligated to credit Disney for my photo?

Sunday morning. I had promised my four-year-old “animal pancakes.” It had been some time since I’d made them. My twins are 11 so the “mom is a hero because she can turn batter into a bunny” phase has passed for them.

A little Mommy Guilt kicked in: my baby is four and this is the first time I’d be making them for her. Hmmm, I’ll have to create something cool to impress her. Something she’s really into these days: Dora, SpongeBob, Phineas and Ferb, etc.  

I was excited and started pouring batter. However, my attempts at creating these newbie kid favorites resulted in big, blobby pancakes that looked like…well…big blobs.

On my next try, having run out of ideas, I started with a simple circle in the middle of the pan and accidentally plopped some batter against the top right of the circle. Then the magic of Disney must have taken over. One more pour of batter and two blueberries and TaDa — MICKEY MOUSE!  

My daughter was gleeful. 

So there ya go: keep it simple, stick with the classics.

I know it appears from the photo that Mickey is suffering from a scary skin condition but I assure you, once cooked, he looked swell.

Love Your Home,
Sue

Adorable photo by kidtrip

We’ve had a particularly cool summer here in Pittsburgh.  Not many trips to the pool and it’s already almost the end of July.  However, the cooler evenings have given us a chance to enjoy two at-home summer activities for the kids: (1) lightning bugs catching contests (the chillier weather seems to have brought them out in droves;) and (2) backyard campfires.

A campfire in our own backyard is an all-evening affair. We start by having the kids collect kindling as well as a few prime marshmallow-roasting sticks from the woods.  Then my husband throws a few logs in the portable, metal fire pit, which we found at Home Depot, and gets a nice big fire a-blazin’. The kids are delighted and surprisingly quiet.  Something about sitting around that fire seems to mesmerize them, transforming them into content and peaceful creatures.  And finally, we complete the fun with some good old-fashioned S’mores.

If it’s been a while since you’ve made one, here’s the “recipe” for a S’more:

• marshmallows
• Hershey’s chocolate bars
• Graham crackers
• Damp paper towels (or a box of hand wipes)
• Bug spray

Directions:  Place a square of chocolate on a Graham cracker.  Roast the marshmallow to your “desired doneness.” (I like mine burnt to an unrecognizable crisp.) Then, with a second cracker, squeeze the roasted marshmallow between the crackers and chocolate. YUM!! You’ll figure out what to do with the damp paper towels and the bug spray.

S’mores in your own backyard.  Life doesn’t get much better than that.

For other fun ideas for enjoying and exploring the outdoors, check out this terrific website: Green Hour.

Love Your Home,
Sue