Kids Archives - Lollipops and Lemons

Easter Activities for Kids

March 23, 2023~ Kids

Today I’m sharing some of my favorite Easter activities for kids!

Easter Story Eggs

I just love this idea for creating a simplified version of the Easter Story! Its such a creative way for helping little ones understand the meaning behind why we celebrate Easter. Noah has wanted to do his Easter Story Eggs all week – probably because of the sweet surprise at the end! Here’s how to create your own Easter Story Egg set:

Cut an egg carton in half so that are left with space for 6 eggs.
On a note card, write out the story:
1. Jesus ate dinner with his friends.
2. The next day, Jesus died on the cross.
3. He was wrapped in cloth and placed in a tomb.
4. A stone was placed in front of the tomb.
5. Jesus’ friends came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved. The tomb was empty!
6. Jesus is alive! This is the sweet surprise of Easter!
In 6 plastic Easter eggs, place the following items to correspond with the story written on the note card:
1. Cracker
2. Cross
3. Piece of cloth
4. Stone
5. Leave this egg empty
6. Something sweet (we used mini M&Ms)

To tell the story with your child, open an egg for each part of the story and use the item inside to help them remember and retell the story of Easter!

Egg Painting

Really, this couldn’t be more simple, but gives toddlers a fun new way to create art! Let them use Easter egg halves dipped in paint to create a fun circle art design!

Resurrection Rolls

To make Resurrection Rolls, simply roll out a sheet of Crescent roll dough. Cut the dough sheet into six pieces. Dip jumbo marshmallows into melted butter and then cinnamon sugar and place a marshmallow on each dough square. Then fold up and seal the dough around the marshmallow and bake according to crescent roll package directions. When they come out of the oven, top each one of with a brush of melted butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar!

We talked about the marshmallow representing Jesus being placed in the tomb and then the tomb being empty on Easter morning. These are so much fun to make and a perfect, simple activity for a toddler!

St. Patrick’s Day Activities

March 13, 2023~ Kids

Every year when I was growing up, Lucky the Leprechaun would come wreak havoc on our house on St. Patrick’s Day. I can remember waking up to a mess of green and gold. Green string that had been strung back and forth across the hallway, green paper shreds all over the floor, gold chocolate coins strewn about. One year, Lucky even (temporarily) tattooed four leaf clovers onto our faces! We would run out to our trap to see if that was the year we had finally caught Lucky. Every year we schemed and planned for days, coming up with the perfect trap that we were just sure would catch Lucky this time. Though we never caught Lucky, he always wished us better luck next year and left a little treat for us – usually Lucky Charms (we never ate sugared cereals).

This year, I found an adorable book about building a trap to catch a leprechaun. Noah and I read the book and went to work on creating our own trap.

He was so cute coming up with ideas all on his own. He was very certain that leprechauns must like chocolate chips and insisted that we fill the bottom of his trap with chocolate chips to catch Lucky! I loved doing this activity with him because he has quite the imagination! We used supplies that I had around the house – yarn, a box, contact paper (to make Lucky’s feet stick to the bottom of our box of course!), popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, stickers, and chocolate chips.

He is so excited to set his trap for Lucky this week! And I must admit, I’m pretty excited to see his face when he wakes up on St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve got a crazy mess planned that will be crazy fun. :). It includes green streamers, balloons, confetti, gold coins, and leprechaun footprints!

To go along with our St. Patrick’s Day theme this week, we also made green slime and filled it with gold pom poms and green and gold coins. Noah had a great time adding the ingredients, stirring our slime, and pressing our treasures into it. We used a slime recipe that admittedly turned out a little gooier than I had planned, but was still a lot of fun! The recipe I used combined glue, laundry soap, and food coloring. Next time we make slime, I think I’ll try this recipe.

How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Trucks and Beans Sensory Bin

February 20, 2023~ Kids

I absolutely love creating sensory bins for Noah. They are the one thing that he will play with independently and they keep him occupied for quite some time. Sensory bins are also a great way to encourage creative play! The very first one that I created for Noah was a Trucks and Beans Sensory Bin. I put this bin together years ago and it has remained a favorite through both boys. As I’ve rotated toys in and out of our playroom over the past several years, this is one thing that has always remained. There’s no way they would let me take it down!

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Valentine’s Day Themed Sensory Bin for Toddlers and Preschoolers

January 31, 2023~ Kids

I cannot believe it’s already almost February! Where does the time go? I guess that’s what having little ones will do for you. Today I’m sharing an adorable Valentine’s Day themed sensory bin for toddlers and preschoolers. This bin has so many great textures and bright colors. The best part is, the flowers, hearts, and cute little owls that I used in it are actually foam stickers, so when you are done with the bin you can use them to make Valentine’s Day cards!

Here’s what I included in this bin:READ MORE

Truck Activities That Kids Will Love

January 11, 2023~ Kids

Noah absolutely loves trucks. He spends most of the day either playing with trucks or reading books about trucks! I definitely take advantage of his love for trucks in order to keep him busy. Here are ten fun truck activities that kids will love!

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Read books about trucks! We love the books by Usborne because they present facts about different types of trucks, have colorful pictures, and are fun! I’m always surprised how much Noah understands and remembers from these books, even though they are very detailed! Here are our favorite books about trucks!

Big Book of Big Machines

Big Book of Big Trucks

Construction Sites (Don’t tell Noah he’s getting this one for Christmas!) 🙂

Shine-a-Light on the Construction Site

(If you’ve never seen the Shine-a-Light series from Usborne, you’ve really got to check them out! Flashlights + Books = Major Fun)!

Paint your own truck! I found this wooden truck at Michael’s for a couple dollars. We used Crayola Washable Paint. Noah spent about 15 minutes painting his truck a variety of colors! He was so excited for it to dry so that he could play with it!
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Make truck pancakes! You can use a mold or even just a regular cookie cutter to make pancakes in a variety of shapes! I have a train cookie cutter and a truck mold that we use every time we make pancakes. Noah always eats a great breakfast when trucks or trains are involved. You could also do this with sandwiches.

Make a homemade construction site! This construction site was so much fun to create together, was free, and its been one of his favorite toys ever. I dug around my storage room for boxes and we got to work creating! We cut doors and windows in the boxes to make garages for the trucks. We used crumpled up paper bags for piles of dirt. We used an old bottle drying rack and a magnet attached with yarn to make a crane! Get creative and use what you have!

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Make a truck sensory bin. Check out this post for ideas on how to make your own truck themed sensory bin.

Cotton ball painting with truck stencils. I picked up a truck stencil from Hobby Lobby (Noah’s favorite store…”Momma, are we going to Hobby Wobby?”). I clipped cotton balls onto the ends of clothespins, poured out some paint onto a plate, and let him paint!

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Truck Wash. This is such an easy and fun sensory activity! Here’s the recipe I used to make the foam for our truck wash. He even had a great time making tracks on the table with his trucks.

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Sticky Trucks. I found small foam truck shapes and signs at Hobby Lobby. I just put them in a bowl and taped a piece of contact paper to the table. Noah spent forever creating designs and moving his trucks around!

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Truck Stamps. I also found trucks and cars stamps at Hobby Lobby. Noah had a great time stamping them with different colors of ink and then he decided to draw a road with his crayon. He was very proud of his creation. 🙂

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Cookie cutter activities. Cookie cutters are one of the best tools to have on hand. There really is so much that you can do with them! Here’s a few things that we’ve done with our truck cookie cutters: make cookies, play doh, tracing with crayons, sand prints, and food shapes (pancakes, sandwiches).

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Family Traditions – Pizza Night!

April 13, 2017~ Food, Kids

Hey guys! My name is Diana — I’m lucky and grateful to be Sarah’s friend and neighbor 🙂 — and I am so excited to write this guest post for you! I have been making pizza every Friday since I was in middle school. During a Lenten Friday when I was a teenager I remember asking my parents if we could order pizza for dinner (we’re Catholic so we couldn’t have meat), but like all good parents they told me “No, but you can make some.” I ended up making a simple crust and topping it with marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. I figured it would be tasty (and it was!), but if you had told me I would still be making that same pizza recipe every Friday 25 years later, I’m sure I wouldn’t have believed you. You could say that making this pizza every Friday is less of a tradition and more of an addiction (and you wouldn’t be wrong!), but can you blame me?! Who wouldn’t want to eat pizza every week?! My whole family looks forward to pizza Friday because:
1. There’s no meal planning required
And of course:
2. Pizza!

If you’re ok still being friends even now that you know about my pizza obsession, read on! And if you’d like to try out this recipe for yourself, here it is:

Preliminary note: Making this pizza dough is faster and easier if you have a stand mixer but don’t sweat it too much if you don’t — you’ll just need a little bit more muscle! If you aren’t using a stand mixer I recommend a mixing bowl and fork. It’s nothing fancy but it turns out just as tasty! (For the record, I’ve only had a stand mixer for the last 5 years of Pizza Fridays ;-))

Here’s what you’ll need:
1 ¼ c. very-warm-but-not-hot water (ideally between 105 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 package active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
4 c. flour
Pinch of salt
Olive oil

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and add the yeast. Allow it to “proof” (proof = fancy chef word for grow and look all crazy) for 5 – 15 minutes.

Place 3 of the 4 cups of flour in the bowl and add a pinch of salt, the yeast/water mixture, and 1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Stir that until it’s combined, and then knead in the 4th cup of flour (you may need a little more or less than that…you don’t want to use too much and make the dough too dense, you just want to make sure that it isn’t sticky).

Continue kneading the dough until it’s smooth and elastic, then place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover it loosely with a kitchen towel.

Allow it to rise for a couple hours (ideally) or for barely 30 minutes if somehow you’re rushing around trying to pull dinner together at the last second (not that that’s ever happened to me ;-)).

Next you need to figure out your pizza-cooking method. When I first started making pizzas, I used a lightly oiled cookie sheet and I pressed the dough onto that. Now I roll out my dough on a lightly floured countertop, then move it to a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal before adding toppings. Either way works great!

Speaking of toppings, here’s where it really gets fun! On a typical Pizza Friday, we tend to keep things simple with just sauce and cheese (lately I’ve been using slices of the fresh mozzarella they have at Costco…it’s so yummy!). But sometimes we like to make more of an adventure out of our pizza dinner (especially if we’re having pizza on a night other than Friday) and we make crazy pizzas like hot wing pizza (shredded chicken, hot wing sauce, and cheddar cheese…dipped in ranch dressing of course), Philly steak pizza (with cooked steak, sauteed mushrooms and onions, and provolone cheese), or Mexican pizza (with beef or chicken taco meat and all of our favorite taco toppings). Making crazy pizza is a great way to use up random leftovers that you need to get rid of!

Feel free to really get your kids involved in this part — rolling out the dough and adding toppings — little kids are always more excited to eat something they’ve had a hand in preparing, and older kids love being guaranteed to get what they want!!!

After your pizza is prepped, it’s go time! For a cookie sheet pizza, bake it in a 400 degree oven for about 12 – 14 minutes. If you’re using a pizza stone, put the stone into a cold oven and then preheat the oven to 450 (if you put the cold pizza stone into a hot oven the fast temperature change might crack it). Once the oven and stone are hot, you’ll need to slide your pizza carefully off the peel and onto the stone where it will need to cook for about 10 minutes.

And that’s it! Trust me, it sounds way more complicated than it is. And I can demonstrate it much more easily than I can describe it…I wish I could have you all over for a “demo and dinner” pizza night!!!

Thanks for letting me crash your blog, Sarah!

Mommy Wars: We’re all “Mom”

March 16, 2017~ Kids, Lifestyle, Sweet and Sour

Well, I promised a big announcement and here it is! After 2 1/2 years as a stay at home mom, I’ve recently gone back to work full time! It’s been a huge adjustment for our family, but its a decision that we are happy with. It’s funny, when I left my job to stay home after Noah was born, we always joked that I was “retired.” I wasn’t looking for a job and had no plans of returning to work. I was enjoying the blog as my creative outlet and my time with my boys. This past Fall, I was approached with an opportunity that seemed to be a great fit for our family. After 5 interviews and weighing the pros and cons for weeks, when I was offered the position, we decided to go for it! There are a lot of things we are still adjusting to (Mommas, help me out here!) and the one thing I’ve definitely learned is that whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, being a mom is just plain hard, exhausting, fun, and so very fulfilling all at the same time.

Going back to work full time has given me a unique view into both “sides” of motherhood. I now understand that each situation has a unique set of challenges, and neither is perfect. I don’t normally write emotional posts, but I’m hoping that by sharing a peek inside the life of both a stay-at-home mom and a full time working mom, it will encourage us to have compassion for one another and support each other in this journey of motherhood. Far too often, I hear judgement and criticism coming from both sides of the fence, when in reality we are all trying so hard to be the best mom that we can be. Instead of viewing each other as on opposite “sides” can we just see one another as a fellow mom? We really aren’t all that different from each other.

As a stay-at-home mom, I had the best of my children. I got to play with them in the morning, when they were just up from a good night’s sleep (most of the time) and full of energy. We got to go to the park, the zoo, and out for play dates. I got to see every milestone the very first time it happened. We created, explored, laughed, and played together all day. My house was pretty clean and organized and we had homemade meals every night. We were on no one’s schedule but our own. I got to wear yoga pants every day. Sounds pretty perfect, huh?

Here’s what you don’t see:

She’s lonely. Sure there’s a play date every week (at which she never gets to have an adult conversation), but the majority of her week is spent at home, with her kids, with no other adult to talk to. She craves more time with other adults. She’s so. tired. of. talking. about. kids.
She’s tired. She doesn’t sit down all day. She doesn’t even take time to eat a proper lunch. Sometimes during the day, all of the kids are crying and she does too. She’s up late at night, finishing the housework that didn’t get done during the day or soaking in a few minutes of quiet.
She bears the weight of being the primary child care provider and decision maker. Is her child learning as much as the kids in a structured day care program? Will her child know how to behave in a classroom setting? How should she get her child to eat better? How should she get her child to sleep better? How should she start potty training? How should she handle discipline?
She doesn’t receive validation. Her husband doesn’t see the work she does raising children all day and her kids certainly don’t thank her for making lunch or disciplining them.
She feels guilty. For being short with her kids after being asked “why” for the ten thousandth time that day. For not taking them to the park but trying to keep up with housework instead. For serving Mac and cheese for lunch for the third time this week because she can’t take another fight with a two year old. (Not that I’ve ever experienced that 😉 ). For being on her phone too much, craving a connection with the outside world.
She envies the mom that gets to shower, fix her hair, do her makeup, and put on real clothes. Necklace? Dangly earrings? Forget it.
She microwaves her cup of coffee at least three times, maybe more, before ever finishing it (if she finishes it at all).
She worries relentlessly. Are her kids having fun? Would they rather be around other kids more?
She’s selfless. She sacrifices her hair, her wardrobe, fun nights out for the sake of getting to stay home with her kids. The money she does spend on herself consists of drive-by shopping at Target with kids screaming in the cart while making the trip out because she’s out of diapers. She can’t justify buying nice clothes when they’ll be covered in spit up by 7 AM. She never puts herself first.
She loves her kids fiercely. She would do anything for those precious babies (and she does) and she just prays that they know how much they are loved.

As a working mom, I start each day by getting myself ready for the day. I wear cute clothes, jewelry, and makeup every day. Well, most days. I sit at my desk and drink warm coffee in peace every morning while I check email and read the daily Skimm (side note – it’s my new favorite app!). I order groceries online and have them delivered to my house because I don’t want to spend time running to the store with my kids. I sometimes go out to lunch with a friend (kid free!) and I always get to eat my food before it turns cold. I get to learn new skills myself and have intellectual conversations with other adults. I receive validation from my job. I make the most of the time I do have with my kids. I make an effort to put my phone down and be really, truly present with them when I’m off work. I plan date nights and weekend trips with my hubby because we are able to do things like that with two incomes (especially after being used to living on one!). I have child care providers to lean on when I want advice on sleep, eating, and discipline. Sounds pretty perfect huh?

Here’s what you don’t see:

She wants to be alone. She’s constantly around people. Co-workers, family, kids, all requiring something of her.
She’s tired. She’s up before anyone else to get herself and the kids ready for the day. She’s up way too late throwing in that load of laundry thats been sitting in the laundry room for days now.
She bears the weight of trying to be everything for everyone. Her boss, her co-workers, her husband, her kids, and her friends.
She feels pulled too thin. She forgot diapers for day care. She forgot to plan dinner. She forgot that early morning meeting. She forgot that email that needed a response yesterday. She hasn’t had time to take the constantly growing kid shopping for new shoes.
She feels guilty. For being short with her kids after a long day at work. For sneaking peeks at her phone to check her work email. When her kids say in their sweet little voices, “Do you have to work again, Mommy?” Sometimes she even feels guilty when she looks forward to Monday. Her family hasn’t had a home cooked meal all week and the laundry is piling up. Guilty.
She envies the mom that gets to wake up on her own schedule, watch Paw Patrol with her kids, and wear yoga pants all day. She craves a slower pace of life. Evenings are a rush to get dinner on the table, play with the kids, and get them to bed at a reasonable hour.
She worries relentlessly. Do her kids see her enough? Do they know how much she misses them? Do they feel loved by their caretakers? Are they crying too much, eating too little, sleeping well during the day?
She’s selfless. She works tirelessly all day long to meet the needs and demands of others. Her mind never stops. She lays in bed at night thinking about all of the things that need to get done the next day. She never puts herself first.
She misses her babies during the day. She longs to hear their sweet little giggles to lighten the stress of work. She can’t wait to see their little smiles and hear them say, “I love you, Momma” at the end of the day.
She loves her kids fiercely. She would do anything for those precious babies (and she does) and she just prays that they know how much they are loved.

Do you see my point, Momma? We are all tired. We all feel guilty at times. We all worry. We all feel envious of something the “other type” of mom has. We are all selfless. We all bear a lot of weight on our shoulders. We all compare ourselves and wonder if we are doing enough. But at the end of the day, we are all moms. We all love our kids fiercely. It doesn’t matter if we work full time or stay home, or something in between, our worries, fears, and pressures of motherhood are the same. Not one of us is doing it better than the other. You are the perfect momma for your kiddos. That’s it.

It makes me sad to see and hear all of this mommy war chatter. I hope that by sharing my perspective both as a working mom and as a stay at home mom, it will encourage you to have more compassion with women that are in a different position than you. Mothering is hard. We all need love, support, and encouragement from each other. Let’s be each other’s tribe. :). Take your stay-at-home momma friend out to coffee on a Saturday morning. Take dinner over to your working momma friend one night. Lighten the load and love each other.

Guess I better go throw that load of laundry in now….anyone want to come do that for me? 😉

XOXO Mommas!

Sensory Play with Food

February 28, 2017~ Kids

Anytime I want Noah to try a new food, I let him play with it! If its on his plate, at the dinner table, he won’t touch it. No way, no how. Nope. But, if I give him a few kitchen tools and a tray of fun new foods to explore, he’ll feel them, smell them, and yup, even taste them. Funny how that works. What I love about allowing children to learn through play is that it builds confidence, instills a love of learning, and in turn encourages them to explore and try new things. This activity allows them to experience sensory play with food. Just look at the beautiful, vibrant colors of this tray! The colors alone are attractive to children (and I loved it too!) but then the new textures, smells, and even tastes to explore are so much fun!

Essential Tools for Cooking with Kids

February 14, 2017~ Food, Kids

Noah LOVES to help me in the kitchen. Probably the thing I enjoyed most about doing a Whole30 was how much time Noah and I have spent together in the kitchen. He was so much more likely to try foods as we were cooking and if he had helped prepare them. Turns out he likes tomatoes and raw red bell pepper! The first time he asked me if he could have some of the salad he’d helped to make, I about fell over. The kid’s been eating salad ever since. As long as he prepares it. I kid you not. I’ve found many tools along the way that make cooking fun for him.

I mean, how cute is he?!?!

Cooking Stand

Hands down, our best kitchen addition for allowing Noah to cook is his cooking tower. I found the plans for it online and my Dad was kind enough to build it for Noah! He can’t slip and fall off of it and he loves having his own special place to stand when helping me cook. Ours is a bit smaller than the one from the plans, just because we don’t have a ton of space in our kitchen to store it. I do see that the plans now include a way to attach hinges so that it will fold flat! Mine does not fold, but to be honest, I probably wouldn’t use that feature much anyway because Noah uses this tower all day for everything from finger painting to cooking!

Child safe knives

We have loved the Starpack child safe knives. I originally purchased them from Amazon, who is not carrying them at the time of this post. These however, are similar! They don’t cut skin and Noah just loves the fact that he has a “big knife” like mommy does. I will say, they don’t really cut hard things, but are great for fruit, tomatoes, etc. Our food doesn’t always look pretty, but I love seeing the pride Noah has when he’s helped prepare a meal!

Small cutting board

I recently purchased this small cutting board from Target and its perfect for Noah! He loves that its blue and I love that its got a non-skid rubber bottom, so it doesn’t slip out from under him when he’s using his knives.

Small utensils (Spatula)

I originally bought Noah a set of cute kid sized utensils, but as children do, he wanted what I was using. He has now claimed my mini spatula from Williams Sonoma as his own. 🙂

Plastic Bowls with anti-skid bottoms (Crate and Barrel)

These colorful bowls from Crate and Barrel are my favorite for cooking with kids! They have a rubber non-skid bottom and provide more entertainment in the kitchen than you would think a simple bowl could! He nests them by size, we talk about small, medium, and large, and of course, we cook with them. Who knew a simple set of bowls could be so fun?!

Measuring cups and spoons

I’m not big on purchasing separate items for kids. I think if the child can safely use the “real” version of something, then why not? I have two sets of the All Clad measuring cups and spoons because I love them so much, so Noah always works with the same ones that I do!

Dyson

So, while Noah does love the cordless Dyson, I love it even more. This is the thing that keeps my overly-neat-and-tidy self from freaking out when he dumps a bowl of dry oatmeal on the floor shouting, “I scooped it, Momma!!” (I often give him dry oatmeal, the anti-skid bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and his spatula and let him go to town).

What are your favorite kid-friendly tools for the kitchen?

Pasta Sensory Bin

February 7, 2017~ Kids

Noah loves to help me cook. He loves using a variety of cooking utensils and always wants to measure and pour. I used to let him measure and pour dry oatmeal into muffin tins, but it makes a huge mess! Out of that came the idea to use different shapes of dry pasta instead. Much easier to clean up!

This bin is really simple and I’m betting you already have everything for it in your kitchen! Here’s what I used for this bin:READ MORE