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June 17, 2013
by daniperkins Leave a comment

Road Trip Busy Boxes: Kid Travel

While we are happy to have reached our destination (Ithaca is Gorges!) and to be settling into our new town, the journey here was our first ever legit road trip with the kids. Stretched over two days, it was a grand total of 11 approximate hours on the road, not counting breaks for meals and to stretch… and to shop at Ikea. Whew. I am as surprised as anyone that it was, for the most part, pleasant/quiet/fast.

As we began packing for the trip, I pulled out a little canvas bin for each kid and set it aside to be a “busy box” for on the road. We didn’t buy these special; just re-purposed them from where they usually live on their bookshelves. Each day I added some things to the boxes as I came across coloring books, toys, or snacks I thought would be a good fit. The boxes had some items in common and some special items for each kid – specific to their developmental age and interests.

Items included in both boxes (shown in pics below):

Activity, sticker, and coloring books from each kids collection of favs
Snacks that were relatively un-messy and at least on the reasonable side of healthy
Each kid’s tablet
A “play pack” from the dollar store we had hidden for awhile
Some un-scratched DVDs (our car has a built-in DVD player which I didn’t realize when buying it, and which has been kind of crazy useful… also, we kept these up in the front with us)

Special thanks to our fabulous babysitter Lisha for the amazing gift bags she brought for them before we left! Quite a few of the items we packed for them on the road came from her. We miss her so much!

Road Trip Busy Boxes - Kid Travel | Painting Sunny

Special items we packed in Diallo’s (3.5 years old) busy box:

Those DIY travel activities I wrote about including popsicle stick picture puzzles, a color matching game, the blue case full of felt scenes, and the paper towel roll number game. (Spoiler: he just stuck the number matching stickers all over his face. That did not work out.)
A few little play dough and bubble stuff things we had around the house
Some packs of stickers someone gave us awhile back and I had tucked away
A Mickey Mouse watch our friend Laura picked up for Lo, and which I thought might be a fun surprise
A wooden toy car

Road Trip Busy Boxes - Kid Travel | Painting Sunny

Special items we packed in Haven’s (6.5 years old) busy box:

Haven’s “quiet game” felt dress-up girl with clothes. It is so cool, and stored in a little pink pencil case. (Thanks Aunt Norma!)
SweetPea3 MP3 player and charger (We LOVE this thing, which is a gift from the Grandparents quite awhile ago and is one of my favorite kid items ever. So worth it. It is one of these. This post is not sponsored.)
Washable markers and crayons (I like the My First collection from Crayola). Both kids used them, I just stored them in the older kid’s box.
A “nail art” kit from Haven’s Aunt Judy (we love you Judy!) from a little bit back, that Haven was saving for a special occasion.
A Junie B. Jones book – Haven has started reading these and is officially addicted! She spent quite a bit of the trip reading, so it was awesome.

What I Wish I’d Added:

Actual books that I or Haven could have read out loud. I totally meant to! How did we accidentally pack them all?! Some quick and cheerful books on hand would have been great.
More snacks. These kids eat a lot, and by the end of the first day we had burned through most of them. They originally had five or so each including granola bars, peanut butter crackers, cheerios, goldfish snacks, and some fruit straws. Next time I will double-up for those moments you just can’t find a restaurant for the next 20 miles.
Kid-friendly headphones… I never managed to find them before we left, and they hate wearing adult iPhone ones.
More batteries. Another thing I was too enthusiastic to pack and should have kept more on hand.

Road Trip Busy Boxes - Kid Travel | Painting Sunny

What else?

We decided early on that we would break the trip up into two days, so stopped in Pittsburgh for the night. Finding a cat-friendly hotel can be a challenge, but the hotel Marriott there accepted them with a fee and was conveniently located right along the interstate we were driving on and just 2 miles away from the Ikea we planned to ~~move into~~ shop at the next morning. The best stay-over tips I have post-trip are:

Check the whole hotel room before settling in and putting kids to bed in it. Unfortunately, our bathroom wasn’t in great working order (shower head held together by a rubber band, which is super weird). We just didn’t feel up to changing rooms by that point.
It is very much a personal choice, but we did make our cat more comfortable with a light sedative as we traveled. It was approved and prescribed by her veterinarian. Paloma does NOT travel well (broke off three of her claws on the last trip to the vet) so this was merciful for her. She slept some of it, was drowsy other parts, but giving her the pills was easy by just slipping part of one into a soft cat treat.
We are super-strict bed-time people, but we had to let that go while traveling. In fact, by the time we were in our hotel room with the luggage in place, it was 9:30PM and their bedtime routine usually starts at 7:30PM. Oy. Anyway, I just decided to throw in the towel and take them to the hotel pool anyway, just so they could get out some of the pent-up energy from being stuck in the car. SO WORTH IT. They weren’t in bed until 11:00PM, but fell right asleep.
I have never been so grateful for PBJs! At least for the kids (and occasionally for us) having a few basic foods with us like peanut butter, jelly, bread, cheese singles, small things of milk, and bananas meant food the kids were happy enough to eat. It cut down on restaurant expenses and filled in gaps when restaurants were closed or far away.

If we ever feel up for a long road trip again with these guys, I would totally try out this DIY Travel Lap Tray from Prudent Baby, and these Road Trip Pillow Cases from Amazing Mae . Genius ideas, and I think it would help to have some new things to make each trip more novel for the kids, especially if there were multiple trips in one summer.

What do you think about wrapping up the activities like presents first? I’ve heard a lot of people suggest it, but I felt with all those treats, toys, and activities they were getting enough stuff and didn’t want to make them feel any more entitled. I’ve also heard of giving each kid a roll of quarters (if they are old enough not to swallow any, of course) and if they behave well they can keep the quarters to buy snacks. Thoughts? New ideas?

PS: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own, and I have not received compensation for anything written. Keepin’ it real.

June 10, 2013
by daniperkins Leave a comment

BRB, XOXO!

We are in the midst of our relocation to the beautiful (or “Gorges”, I’ve heard) city of Ithaca, New York. We are sad to leave Bloomington, Indiana and our fabulous friends behind but are so excited to be on this new adventure! It’s hard to DIY up the place with stuff in boxes, so please come back next week, when I hope to have some fabulous new posts for you, including what we packed to entertain the kids on the drive, what books have made travel much more enjoyable, and how the cat feels about the whole situation. Talk with you soon!

XOXO,

Dani

June 5, 2013
by daniperkins Leave a comment

Upping the Aww Factor: Colorful Cards From Kids

We may be 6 months away from Thanksgiving, but we have an awful lot to be thankful for. As we prepare to leave B-Town, we are grateful for the amazing teachers our children have had, the awesome friends who are sending us off with warm wishes, and the babysitter our children absolutely adore. Excuse me, I may be getting a little weepy.

For the past year, whenever we have had a special person we want to tell thanks, congrats, or just to share our love we have defaulted to letting the kids do it for us. There is something about a colorful messy message coming directly from some tots that ups the aww factor. It also distracts the children from crunching up goldfish crackers in an even layer on top of the coffee table.

Upping the Aww Factor: Colorful Cards From Kids | Painting Sunny

This evening, we put a few DIY cards together to say some last thank yous and goodbyes! We have actually been making a couple cards for people each week, so at this point it has been become an SOP for the kids.

Upping the Aww Factor: Colorful Cards From Kids | Painting Sunny

For tonight’s cards, I started out with two medium-sized pieces of poster board (can buy in a pack from a craft store for a few dollars). Grabbed two sheets and folded them lengthwise, then cut three cards out to make some large and square-ish shaped folded blank cards.

The advantage to the poster board is that it is affordable, large, and sturdy enough to keep the card from being floppy. The disadvantage is that one side is shinier and slicker than the other, so be sure to let any paint or markers dry completely before handling. Ours got a little smeary, but I don’t mind it adding to the imperfectly-perfect-made-by-kids affect.

A Criminal Minds marathon was nice enough to record itself on the DVR, so last night I sat down in front of the telly and prepped the cards so they would be ready for a post-school activity today. I just grabbed a permanent marker and wrote a message on the front of each card at an angle (to add some visual interest) and a little note on the inside as well. Some of the cards were getting gift-cards taped inside, so I held a gift-card against the poster board in a nice spot and sketched a little design around it.

Upping the Aww Factor: Colorful Cards From Kids | Painting Sunny

The kids did all the hard work, of course. I left out the cards and an assortment of washable crayons and markers and let the kids go to town. I try not to be a control freak when they are coloring these and just let them do their thing… with the exception of checking to ensure each card is getting bright colors added on each side. It’s called Quality Control, people… no judging.

I love the Crayola “My First” collection of art supplies. This isn’t a sponsored post… they are just good quality crayons and markers that are easy for the kids to hold, wash off almost anything, and the tips don’t snap off the first time you use them. Somehow the triangular crayons are just cuter.

Upping the Aww Factor: Colorful Cards From Kids | Painting Sunny

They both have a great time, and each contribute to the cards mostly without fighting about it. I always think they will boss each other around on what to draw or get mad if they scribble over the other one’s artwork, but so far the only point of contention is sharing the purple and red markers.

Upping the Aww Factor: Colorful Cards From Kids | Painting Sunny

This probably kept them occupied about 10 minutes. 10 precious, precious minutes.

Upping the Aww Factor: Colorful Cards From Kids | Painting Sunny

After the marker had a chance to dry, I just rolled up a piece of tape and stuck a gift card inside of each assigned spot. For those of you who haven’t lived in the Bloomington, IN area, Scholars Inn Bakehouse is a local coffee joint/cafe that has delicious desserts, breakfasts, and honestly really good coffee. I will miss it so much, it’s nice to know that someone else will be enjoying the local treats!

Anyone else using their children to handle their correspondence? Enchanted with those triangular crayons? Missing a local coffee shop from a past hometown? I’m looking forward to finding some new haunts in New York!

PS: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own, and I have not received compensation for anything written. Keepin’ it real.

May 31, 2013
by daniperkins Leave a comment

Pretty Pretty Patio Things

Spring is in the air! Okay, I’m a little belated… it’s totally 87 degrees out and BBQ season has hit full-on swing. As we are in the midst of relocating and will be a little bit “between houses” this June, I’m relying on good old online-window-shopping to satisfy my patio cravings. Let’s just cut to the chase, right? Pretty Patio Moodboard, Summer 2013 | Painting Sunny From Top Left, Moving Clockwise…

Ikea, SKYN Serving bowl, white for $9.00
West Elm, Bend Dining Chair for $249.00 – $498.00 (on sale $119.99 – $239.99)
World Market, Aqua Bird Ceramic Drink Dispenser for $29.99
World Market, Multi Stripe Chevron Tray for $16.99
World Market, Chains Indoor-Outdoor Rug, Black/Neutral for $49.99 – $699.99
West Elm, Mosaic Tiled Bistro Table – Aqua Glass for $399.00 (on sale $319.00)
World Market, Wild Stix Sidewalk Chalk, 4-Piece for $2.49
World Market, Aqua Rectangular 2-Tier Tiffin for $9.99
Ikea, BÄRBAR Tray, dotted, multicolor for $5.99
West Elm, Martini Side Table – Silver for $149.00
West Elm, Porcelain Hurricanes – Floral for $29.00 – $49.00

Who could resist that oh-so-bright-and-fresh chevron tray from World Market? I think it is also safe to say that aqua is still a hot summer color. Browsing around, it seems like a vintage vibe is in the air for this season, along with some mid-century modern design elements. I’m throwing around these terms with more confidence than I probably should.

Anyone else charmed by striped sidewalk chalk? Mixing their aqua’s and sunny yellow’s? Laying more patterns than is probably advisable? I’m off for more packing fun!

PS: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own, and I have not received compensation for anything written. Keepin’ it real.

May 29, 2013
by daniperkins Leave a comment

We Can Work It Out: Playlist additions, affordable exercise tools, and so forth

I once interviewed someone for a job, over the phone (see, things are already awkward) who ended every single sentence with “… and so forth”. It was odd and distracting, but did make it sound like he had a lot more to talk about and we just didn’t have the time to explore it in-depth. I’ve kind of liked saying it ever sense.

Anyway, remember that time I put my pride aside and listed the 25 workout jams on my playlist? Even the border-line embarrassing ones? Hey, it’s all about the BPM (beats per minute that is)(… and so forth). Well, I thought it was about time to add a few more I’ve been hitting the pavement to, and then ramble about some of my other favorite fitness gear. I’m certainly no expert… and not exactly a hard-body… but I do like to get my workouts in.

Workout Playlist Updates, Recommended Tools, and So Forth | Painting Sunny

Let’s Hit The Pavement Playlist Additions

I Love It by Icona Pop

Wings by Little Mix

Get Lucky by Daft Punk

I Like It by Enrique Iglesias

… and my hubs would like to add the following, from his playlist:

Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson

Love Generation by Bob Sinclar

Proud by Heather Small

And We Danced by Macklemore

My Favorite Fitness Tools and Tips

As a Mom who works outside the home, it can be a little tricky to get workout time in. Sometimes gadgets are just silly or expensive, but sometimes they can shave just enough minutes off the process to mean getting that extra workout it. Or, make it interesting enough to get me out there and active. Here are a few of my favorites, with budget in mind:

Your Local Park (Probably Totally Free To Use)

A few weeks ago I had both kids home with me, and wanted to fit in a workout while it was still light out. I remembered reading in a magazine about this woman who traveled and worked out at parks, including doing jumps and lunches on park benches. I totally went for it; while the kids were on the slides, I was jogging laps around the playground area and jumping on those benches like there was no tomorrow. I later found this article from Fitness Magazine, which helps you take full advantage of free outdoor facilities.

Food Journaling (Just The Cost Of A Pen And Paper)

I’ve heard this is the most effective tool for weight loss. For me, this is totally true. I’m not currently keeping a food journal, but I certainly have and there are lots of effective ways to do it. Grab a notebook and a pen (I like a small one that fits in my handbag) and you’re set. Want to get fancier? Research various apps and other tools to take it electronic. Personally, I’ve always preferred the old-fashioned hand-written way. Check out this site and others for more recommendations.

Online & Electronic Resources

Real Simple’s Fitness Charts (Free With Internet Access)

Have a break from work and want to get in a quick workout? I like to check out of one these Real Simple Magazine Exercise Charts. Their instructions are good, they have a lot of them specific to particular areas you want to work out, and they add more all the time. Check it out!

Nike+ (If You Have a Smartphone, Free)

I do use an iPhone when I run, and I love Nike’s Running App. My husband introduced me to it, and I originally used an insert in a pair of Nike shoes I had to connect to my iPod before I had an iPhone. Now, I just use the GPS function in the app. It works well, sync’s great with my music and had never let me down. I use it every time I run, and even compete against friends via Facebook through this app.

Map My Run (Free Alternative to Nike+ or Others, If You Have Internet Access)

You don’t need a Smartphone or an app to have a great run. My husband used to use Map My Run’s website all the time to plan out runs ahead of time. You can factor in time and distance, and try out some new scenic routes – I highly recommend. They do, for the record, have an app that is good too.

Calorie King (Free With Internet Access)

While they also have an app, I used to use their website daily to check on calorie counts. Counting calories isn’t for everyone, but food journal writing can be a great tool and this can help, if counting up calories is part of your process. Calorie King is the most comprehensive resource I’ve found for the foods I happen to eat, and it is pretty user-friendly too.

Spark People (Free With Internet Access)

I haven’t used it much personally, but have always heard great things about SparkPeople.Com and the support it provides.

Workout Gear (Varies Costs)

For the record, my favorite running shoes are by Saucony. I have wide feet, high arches, and like pretty pinks and purples so they always fit the bill. Sometimes I try others, but I always end up coming back. This is totally not sponsored; just what I honestly like and use and can find on a really good sale in my area. I pay $60-100 for my shoes, so not cheap at all, but there are more affordable styles.

I use a Belkin armband kind of like this one to hold my iPhone when I run, and like it… but it is a little large for me. However, it is adjustable and comfortable and cheaper than some of the alternatives. I believe we paid about $30 for mine, which isn’t cheap – but it has lasted me through 2 years and many, many workouts so far, so I can’t help recommending it.

If all else fails, try out a Mindy Kaling style Revenge Fantasy.

Any other new workout jams I should know about? Awesome websites? Food journalers out there? Happy fitness, everyone!

PS: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own, and I have not received compensation for anything written. Keepin’ it real.

May 24, 2013
by daniperkins 3 Comments

Operation Preoccupy the Preschooler: DIY Travel Activities

Well, we are getting close to our big move! In this case, big move = two long days in a car with little kids. and a cat. OMG.

So, I decided to take a couple evening hours this week and make up some DIY Travel Activities to keep the kids occupied on the road. While watching old Criminal Minds episodes, of course. With just a few supplies I managed to come up with four different types of activities, and some of those are multi-part – so cheers to at least 15 minutes of peace and quiet in the car!

DIY Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

The main ingredients are shown above, and I was also armed with a few basic supplies I had around the house. My goal was to make multiple activities with each of the supplies I bought. Mostly, I used:

Popsicle Sticks from the craft store ($2.99 for a large package)
10 sheets of felt from the craft store, 25 cents each
Hot glue (I already had the gun and glue)
Printed out photographs (printed on our home computer on white cardstock we had)
Round yard-sale stickers (I had some leftover from a yard-sale)
A fine-tipped permanent marker
Scotch tape
A cardboard tube from a paper towel roll
Scissors
Cardboard cut into squares to fit the felt sheets
Optional: I bought a little plastic carrying case for about a $1.80 (originally $2.99)

The supplies above purchased from a craft store were all from Hobby Lobby, which is just the closest one to our house.

Below are pictures and a few notes on how each activity came together, along with a link to the original inspiration! The original tutorials from the blogs noted below are more in-depth than what I’ve written, so please show them some love and go check them out!

Project 1: Popsicle Stick Color Matching Game (almost finished)

DIY Popsicle Color Matching Game, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

Original Inspiration from the summer popsicle activity tutorial at at Roots and Wings Co.

What isn’t finished about these, you ask? They look so cute already! Well, for our 3 year old son who can’t quite read yet, having the colors written on the sticks is great… but having one side painted the color would be much more useful. I just have not had the chance to break out the paints from the pile of boxes! I have about 2 weeks left, so will have to get on that.

While you can’t tell from the photographs, the sticks are removable from the felt popsicle-tops. I’ll take them apart, and them the little guy will be responsible for matching them back up and sticking the sticks into the colorful tops.

DIY Popsicle Color Matching Game, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

I cut out one popsicle-shaped top out of the felt, and then used that as a template for the rest of the colors. For each color, I cut two pieces in order to make the front and back.

DIY Popsicle Color Matching Game, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

Many of the tutorials online for this activity call for sewing the edges, which I have no excuse for not having done. Still, I had the hot glue gun at hand, so went ahead and glued these instead. It worked great! I put a dab of glue at the top, stick it together, and then ran a little down the sides (as shown above) then pressed the edges together firmly. Voila!

Project 2: Personalized Photo Puzzles

DIY Personalized Photo Puzzles, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

Original Inspiration from the Father’s Day Craft tutorial at Impress Your Kids.

These were so so simple, y’all! A couple supplies, and they turned out super cute. Most of all, I love how personalized it is.

DIY Personalized Photo Puzzles, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

I chose pictures of things he loves (pictures of him and his sister reading in bed, or with his Dad at the park, with Grandma June, with his friend at teacher at school, of his cat, etc.) and threw in a couple random images such as a Tiger, for fun.

Above, you can see how I scotch-taped the backs of the sticks together. Then, I just flipped it over and hot-glued the picture down over the sticks careful not to get glue in bedroom the sticks too much. After it dried, I removed the tape and then used an Xacto knife to cut the pictures between the sticks until they were separate.

I’d like to come up with a nice way to store these… maybe sew a little separate for each puzzle? Or stick to the oh-so-simple snack sized plastic bags?

Project 3: Number Matching Pole

DIY Number Matching Pole, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

Original Inspiration from the DIY Preschool Car Trip Activity tutorial at Simple Mal.

Again – this is almost painfully simple. We had a garage sale last weekend, so I grabbed some leftover stickers and numbered them, then wrote the same set of numbers randomly along a paper towel cardboard roll. This was awesomely easy. Thanks Mallory!

Project 4: Felt Board Scenes

DIY Felt Board Scenes, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

Original Inspiration from the Pinterest Board of Felt Board Stories from Marcy Bishir. Nice collection of pins, Marcy!

These were the most fun out of all of the projects. I had a great time sitting and cutting out fun little shapes in front of the TV. Some I took straight off of pictures I saw online, and others I came up with myself. Those felt squares are so easy to cut through. I would grab a full-sized sheet and then start cutting out elements and adding to it, “building” the picture was I went until I felt like it had enough pieces to be fun.

Here are some close-ups of my favs:

DIY Felt Board Scenes, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

All in all, I made 5 different “scenes” to play with. A “house” scene with a tree, lake, sun, etc.; an outer-space scene; a ” party food” scene with pizza and cupcakes; an “ocean” scene with fish, a whale, and coral; and a holiday scene with a snow man, pine tree, and presents.

DIY Felt Board Scenes, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

My strategy was to pick out a few colors I knew I wanted to leave full sheets of, as the “background” for the scenes (I chose light blue, white, green, and black). I wanted to make them firm enough for the kids to sit it on their laps and play with in the car, so I found some cardboard sheets from the back of photo frames I wasn’t using, cut them to size (shown above) and hot glued the full-sized sheets to those (shown below).

DIY Felt Board Scenes, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

Again, these were easy and fun and my goal is to bridge the age-gap and have scenes both kids will find fun the play with. We actually already have a “quiet box” of Haven’s that she loves, with a little felt girl cutout glued to one side and dress-up clothes of all types she can stick to the girl. It was a gift from her Aunt Norma, and we’re bringing that along to keep H amused as well.

DIY Felt Board Scenes, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

This little carrying case was in the “art storage” area of Hobby Lobby, and I was surprised to see that the full-price for it was only $2.99. It expands pretty wide, too, and is so nice and bright. Since I had my Hobby Lobby iPhone app up and used the built-in 40% off coupon, it brought the cost down to just a bit over $1. This post is not sponsored, btw. For me, that was totally worth it to hold the felt boards and cut-outs. I stored the cut-outs for each scene in plastic quart-sized storage bags.

DIY Felt Board Scenes, Preschool Travel Activities | Painting Sunny

Want to know the other fun thing about this post? I got all fancy and tried the Katie Bower method for better small product photography. Seems so simple, but her tips totally helped. She is so cool.

Anyone else about to embark on a road-trip with kiddos? Figured out a safe and non-screechy way to transport a cat long-distance? Sit and cut out astronauts and pizza slices while you watch TV?

PS: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own, and I have not received compensation for anything written. Keepin’ it real.

May 20, 2013
by daniperkins Leave a comment

Introducing Ginger Dijon Salmon, Our Most Favorite Fish

For a few months now, every Saturday evening the husband and I make dinner together for just us, and it is usually this salmon with a ginger Dijon sauce. That sounds like it would get old, but with something this good we just never get tired of it. “Salmon Saturdays” even rhymes, so obviously that makes it more delicious.

This is really guest post, as the salmon recipe was created by the very own hubs. Thanks babe! He was inspired by this recipe, and went on to tweak it and add ground ginger, which is what catapulted it into the realm of fav recipes.

The roasted red potatoes are also so delicious. Mental Note: remember to bring those back up another day.