Back to School Countdown {Repost}

I won't start this post by saying, "I can't believe school starts one week from tomorrow for us!" but I will say this summer is a bit of a blur!  So many great memories, carefree days, and fun times, but now it's time to move on to a new chapter- SCHOOL TIME!

I shared my back to school countdown last year.  But I wanted to update the look a bit, and add some new activities. My boys ALWAYS have the first day jitters, so I like to make the days up to the first day as fun and exciting as possible, and a countdown is the perfect way to do it. 

You can click on the link above for more tips on making the countdown calendar, but basically I just dress up a toilet paper roll, and then put a little treat and activity inside the roll each day.  We countdown the week before school, so like  I said we'll be starting tomorrow!

The link above also has a list of activities we do in our countdown.  This year I'm adding a few new ones.

Back to school Mad Libs (tune in tomorrow for some great links on that)

Make a back to school Rainbow Loom bracelet

Take a quiz about last year's school year

You can do anything you'd like for your countdown.  Personalize it for your kids, and make it fun.  That first day can be a bit nerve-racking and overwhelming.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Valentines for Goldilocks and the Three Bears {Fun Story for Valentine's Day}

This is my post I shared at Or So She Says last year during the month of February.  It's a simple story based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  I do it with my boys every year, and they don't ever seem to tire of it.

You simply read the story and cut out some hearts along the way.  At the end you have a great big valentine for Papa Bear, a medium-sized valentine for Mama Bear, and a small valentine for Baby Bear.   Click here to see my entire post.  I have a printable version of the story, and pictures of each step you'll need to do to cut out the hearts while reading the story.  So easy, and yet so surprising.  

This would be the perfect little activity to do at a class valentine party, or just at home with your own kids. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Garage Door Heart Attack {@ OSSS}

Happy Valentine Week!  I always love the days leading up to holidays just as much as the actual holiday.  The anticipation that builds, and the preparation are always so much fun!

I'm over at Or So She Says today with a fun, unexpected valentine surprise that is perfect for dad, or anyone else who drives the car into the garage at the end of the day.

You can check out my entire post here.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Printable Valentine Love Notes {Repost}

We have a tradition at our house of writing little love notes to each other during the month of February.  In the past, we've just used plain pieces of paper.  This year I decided we needed to make our notes a bit cuter.  With a husband and three boys, Valentine's is the only time of year I can get away with cute, so I do!  This is what I came up with.

(As I stated in my post title, this is a repost.  Please excuse the dark photos from here on out.  I've learned a thing or two about photo editing since I originally posted this :)).

It's so fun to see how excited my boys are to write notes to everyone.  They're so secretive about it, and they write the sweetest things.  I'm always sneaking a look into their mailboxes (a box or tin where we leave each other's notes) to see what they've written to each other.  It really is a great way to reflect on and remind each other of the many reasons we love one another.

I made four notes on one page, so it will be easy to print out LOTS of notes.  We have five of us in our family, and we sometimes go through 20 notes a day.  I always make sure to have plenty on hand, so we don't run out.

  I hope you'll enjoy this fun tradition as much as we have!  Click here to print your valentine love notes.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Thanksgiving Eve Traditions

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  It may seem funny that I haven't posted in weeks, and yet here I am on Thanksgiving morning.  I was up feeding my little one at 6:00, and couldn't go back to sleep.  So, I decided to take advantage of the quiet, sleeping house and pop in for a quick hello.

I was going to just repost some fun ideas for Thanksgiving Eve today, but when I went to copy the HTML to paste in this post, I lost it!  So, today's ideas are a repost, but the post itself is new as of today.

What do you do on Thanksgiving Eve?  Are you out Black Friday shopping?  We aren't ever, so it's fun to have some traditions to ring in the Christmas season.  Here are a few of the things we do/ I want to start doing.

THANKSGIVING EVE TRADITIONS
Unwrap Christmas pajamas
Decorate gingerbread houses
Decorate your Christmas tree
Make your Christmas list
Get out the Christmas music (if you haven't already)
Read a Christmas book
Watch a Christmas movie
Make a Christmas countdown  

These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing.  I'd love to hear what you do to usher in the holidays!  I'm always looking for new traditions!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  Enjoy this wonderful day of thanks, and great food!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Back to School Countdown {A Recycled Advent Calendar}

I won't start this post by saying, "I can't believe school starts one week from tomorrow for us!" but I will say this summer is a bit of a blur!  So many great memories, carefree days, and fun times, but now it's time to move on to a new chapter- SCHOOL TIME!

I shared my back to school countdown last year.  But I wanted to update the look a bit, and add some new activities. My boys ALWAYS have the first day jitters, so I like to make the days up to the first day as fun and exciting as possible, and a countdown is the perfect way to do it. 

You can click on the link above for more tips on making the countdown calendar, but basically I just dress up a toilet paper roll, and then put a little treat and activity inside the roll each day.  We countdown the week before school, so like  I said we'll be starting tomorrow!

The link above also has a list of activities we do in our countdown.  This year I'm adding a few new ones.

Back to school Mad Libs (tune in tomorrow for some great links on that)

Make a back to school Rainbow Loom bracelet

Take a quiz about last year's school year

You can do anything you'd like for your countdown.  Personalize it for your kids, and make it fun.  That first day can be a bit nerve-racking and overwhelming.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

The Backpack Fairy {Fun Night Before the First Day of School Tradition}

This is one of my very favorite back to school traditions!  I think I read about it in Family Fun magazine many years ago.  And, if you're familiar with the tooth fairy, then you probably already know what the backpack fairy does.

WHAT  TO DO

Have your child leave his/her backpack out the night before school starts.  You can choose a designated spot, or just put it anywhere (the backpack fairy is pretty smart, she'll have no problem finding the backpacks!).  During the night the backpack fairy will come and leave some special gifts inside each backpack.  When morning comes, be sure to check inside the backpacks before leaving for the first day to see what she's left!

So, so easy!  It's just another way to make the first day of school a bit more fun and exciting, and not so nerve-racking!  

Here are some of the items our backpack fairy has left, but your fairy can leave whatever she wants.

Folders

Pencils/Pens

Crayons/Markers

Pencil Boxes

Binders

Erasers

Notebooks

A new book

A new shirt

A treat

A backpack decoration (think key chains)

A special note

Hand sanitizer

A new lunch box

These are just a few ideas.  I'm sure your fairy can come up with many, many more!

We've got the new backpacks, now we're just waiting for the night before school starts to set them out.  Can't wait to see what she brings this year!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Printable Birthday Quotes

Two of my favorite people in the world have birthdays in March.  My mom's is tomorrow, and my husband's is the 29th.  In honor of their birthdays, I thought I'd share some of my printable birthday quotes, again.  It's been awhile. 

This picture is from a post I did last January.  This is my birthday memory board.  In that post, I go through all of the components of my memory board, and I have a link where you can print out the birthday quotes.  You can see one of them in the picture above (Happy Birthday To You!).  There are six in all.

Click to Print

And I have two more birthday quotes to print out from another post I did for my birthday and my mom's last year.  I love making the special people in my life feel extra special on their special day!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Valentines for Goldilocks and the Three Bears

I'm over at Or So She Says today with one of my very, very favorite valentine traditions!  It's a simple story based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  I do it with my boys every year, and they don't ever seem to tire of it.

You read the story and cut out some hearts along the way.  At the end you have a great big valentine for Papa Bear, a medium-sized valentine for Mama Bear, and a small valentine for Baby Bear.   Click here to see my entire post.  I have a printable version of the story, and pictures of each step you'll need to do to cut out the hearts while reading the story. 

This would be the perfect little activity to do at a class valentine party, or just at home with your own kids. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you found a little something worth your time.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.