Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Most Likely to Become a Racecar Driver

Most Likely to Become a Racecar Driver


Tracey is guest posting today for Meijer's most likely to... you still have time to enter the contest ends Sept. 8. 2013.

We all have big dreams for our children. We imagine them growing up to be actors and musicians and, if we are lucky, taking care of Mom and Dad after they become rich and famous! I try not to disillusion myself with these types of thoughts, but lately I’ve started to entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe, I have a future racecar driver on my hands.

Garrett has always loved sports! When he was just a year old, he would play, for easily an hour at a time, just shooting basket after basket after basket into his mini basketball goal in the kitchen. When he was 4, he started t-ball. He is now 12 and has played in Little League every season since then (even 2 seasons one year!). When he was 5 he played his first year of Flag Football and over the course of about 5 years, Garrett was able to put a few seasons of basketball under his belt, as well. In the winter, he plans to play again and is also considering his first season of Track & Field. But even with his wide array of sports interests, there is one sport that stands above the rest. It’s more than just a sport, it is a passion and it is his life. And that is racing.






Garrett’s obsession with racing began at an early age. At just 2 years old, he could easily identify and name many well known Nascar drivers, their numbers, and their sponsors. Of course, over time, his knowledge of drivers grew, as did his drive to become one of them. At 6 years old, it was evident that, if he were to realistically pursue this consuming desire to speed around turns at an alarming rate, and maneuver through tight packs of cars and thrill-seeking drivers at speeds nearing 200mph, that he would have to begin perfecting his craft at a young age (what were we thinking!??).




It just so happened that his father and I both had ties to a local race track that starts children (as young as 7 years old) as drivers of Junior Faskarts, an entry level racecar designed to allow beginning drivers an opportunity to gain racing experience at a young age. And so began his journey into racing, with a real car, real gear, and real sponsors.

It isn’t the cheapest endeavor, and at this level of racing no prize money is awarded, so he hasn’t been able to race in every season. But he definitely seems to have a natural ability behind the wheel and has placed well in the heats and features that he has participated in. Some even ended with the honor of driving the track with the coveted checkered flag in his proud, determined hand.





Garrett doesn’t just work hard on the track. He also works hard in the garage, helping his dad tweak and repair his car between races. And most importantly, he works hard in school. In order to race, he has to keep his grades up and do well in class, which he has done an excellent job at maintaining. Meijer has also been there to help us in keeping him successful in school. We always know that we will be able to find the supplies he needs for the coming school year, his after school sports, and even those Nascar shirts he loves!
As Garrett climbs the ladder of racing divisions, he will gain knowledge and experience that will help him succeed on the track. He has even begun dreams of going to college to learn the science behind the sport and we will have Meijer beside us every step of the way to help with whatever he needs to become successful on his journey.





Do you have a child that is “Most Likely to…..”? Then enter them in Meijer’s “Most Likely To” Photo Sweepstakes for your chance to win 1 of 25 $100 Meijer Gift Cards! Simply visit http://bit.ly/MeijerMostLikelyTo and submit a photo showing what your child is most likely to be when he/she grows up.

Meijer most likely to photo sweepstakes
Meijer most likely to photo sweepstakes.




This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

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Wordless Wednesday

Blast from the past. I posted this on Facebook over a year ago. The little one dressed herself and bounded in proud of her accomplishment, "I'm ready, Mommy." I wonder if this was the moment that changed her sense of style? She tries to match and dress like a pretty princess these days. Did I over react? I don't remember what went down.  Probably a, "You can't wear that to town."

Note shoes on opposite feet and stylish Elmo infant socks.
Town.  People make fun of me for saying that. I go to town when I go to the store. Do you?  I guess it stems from growing up in between two cornfields just outside of city limits.

While looking at this picture it occurred to me that these were all once a favorite item of clothing.

Edible Art PRETZEL Heart Recipe Valentine Craft Activity for Kids

Pretzel Heart Recipe

Almost as good as the ones you get from a carnival, this Edible Art, Pretzel Heart Recipe is the perfect Valentine Craft Activity for family fun. Enjoy!

Want to make pretzels at home? This recipe is fun to do as a family. And, it's yummy too- better than a breadstick! Make an edible heart for a fun, Valentine activity.


Edible Art PRETZEL Heart Recipe Valentine Craft Activity for Kids
Twist Pretzel into a heart for Valentine's Day.


Have a HEART!

You will need:
1 pkg. dry yeast, 1 tbs. sugar, 1 1/2 cup warm water, 4 cups flour, 1 tsp. salt or sea salt, 1 egg beaten, Red food coloring,

Mix water and yeast together in large bowl until yeast dissolves. Add Salt, Sugar, Flour, and food coloring. Mix and Knead the dough until smooth- but don't over do it. The more you work the dough the less fluff the finished product will have. Flour your hands to work the dough; it is sticky!


Knead in red food coloring.



Roll dough and make heart shaped pretzels or oversize pretzel bread sticks, place on GREASED baking sheet, lightly brush with BEATEN EGG, sprinkle with SALT.


Brush with egg.
Heart Pretzel Recipe for Kids
Twist and lay out.
 














BAKE at 425 degrees for 12 -15 minutes.
Try with usual dips WARM CHEESE and HOT MUSTARD
Or Experiment with CREAM CHEESE, PEANUT BUTTER, and PIZZA SAUCE.


How to make pretzels, baked recipe
Salt with table salt or pretzel salt, place in oven.

Recommended Reading:

Valentine Doily Gift Pouch

Valentine Cootie Catcher Super Valentine Card Pack*

The Story of Valentine's Day*












ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)


Toothfairy - Do I have to do this 32 times? Includes Free Clipart

Are you looking for toothfairy clipart or coloring pages? We have teeth clipart and cute stories here just follow the links.

How many teeth do little people have?  I feel like we're on our one-hundredth tooth!

I snuck in with a fresh, crispy dollar bill.  When I pushed it under the pillow, it went CRUNCH!




teeth clipart toothfairy clipart
Clipart Teeth are perfect, you don't have to brush them.

Continue for Tooth Fairy Coloring Sheet

My son awoke, and looked at me. He lifted his pillow.  I checked his temperature pretending not to notice (he's been sick).  "Yep, you've still got a fever. I came in to give you your medicine."




Cute Tooth Fairy Coloring Sheet Page Printable
Right Click to save to computer and print or click here to get a PDF file.

When I came back with the meds, he was looking under his pillow.


"She didn't come, again!"  "What!? Are you sure?"  "Yes, here's my tooth, and there is no money!"


How can this be?  I just put the dollar there!  

"Well, maybe she got frightened by something and took off."

I'm running out of excuses here, any ideas?  I couldn't get the tooth out from under his pillow. 


"Hey look around maybe it got lost?"  "No!  My tooth is still here."


Then...  I saw the money on the floor. 

"Hey, look there's a dollar under your bed."

"What should I do with my tooth?"  "Save it for me."


The End. 


Wait, no, if you've been counting, we're only at tooth number seven...  maybe eight.


I can't count; I'm still sleepwalking.  Only twenty-two more to go??

"Mom, my friend gets $5 per tooth.  How come the toothfairy only gives me $1?"


That's a good question- How come I only got a quarter?  


"Hmm," I said. "Maybe you get more for the first tooth and less and less each time?"


Silence.



Recommended Reading:


The Night Before The Tooth Fairy (Reading Railroad)*

The Toothfairy Burglary


Dudley's Spin an Egg Art Easy way to Color and Decorate eggs: Best $5 Ever Spent on Easter Egg Kit

"Dudley's Spin an Egg" is truly the best $5 I ever spent on Easter Egg Coloring Kits: How to Decorate Eggs

It is so easy to color and decorate eggs and make them beautiful. Learn How to decorate Easter eggs with this fun Easter egg coloring kit. These eggs are the best ever. Enjoy!


This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*

Dudley Spin an Easter Egg Easy Coloring Kit How to Make Refill Dye
Dudley Spin and Egg Easy Decorating Kit.

This is so cool! The kids had a blast and I loved it! It is the good, old faithful Dudley brand, "SPIN an EGG," I got mine at Meijer for $5. Look for them on clearance, so you can have a couple for next year. It is so easy, and there is virtually no clean-up. My kids all give it 2 thumbs up (the teenager too)!


Easy Egg Coloring Decorating for Preschoolers and Toddlers Babies
Easy way for Toddlers and Preschoolers to color Easter eggs.


How to Decorate eggs for Easter

Boil your eggs, the old cook books have a recipe for how to boil eggs. I am terrible at it. My eggs always crack or are underdone. Let the eggs cool in the fridge for about an hour, then wipe them dry with a paper towel before coloring.  


how to decorate easter eggs how to boil eggs
Decorating Easter Eggs with Preschoolers with no mess.

'Dudley Spin Art' comes with several coloring packets and the box has color mixing instructions for all your budding little Picassos. If you run out you can make your own Easter egg dye with food coloring. The recipe is at the end of this post.

how to use Dudley Spin an Egg spinner decorating kit make your own dye
Start with a clean dry egg. 
This is essential for the dye to properly adhere to the egg.



















Cut open a pouch and drop 8-10 drops in the spinner or use homemade Easter egg dye. Add the room temperature, dry egg, place the lid on top, and have the kids push the button to watch it spin! Kids love to watch the process.


Dudley Marbled Eggs Easter Dye Kit Refill Recipe
Marbled Eggs with Dudley Egg Spinner.

The kit comes with a Dudley "Puppet" (or use a plastic baggie) to retrieve the eggs from the spinner. Between colors, just wipe the spinner with a paper towel to remove excess dye.


How to Decorate Eggs: Decorating Easter Eggs with Kids Dudley Style
Voila! Beautiful one-of-a-kind decorated Easter Eggs.

Look at these beautiful, shiny eggs. Imagine laying them in a homemade nest for a glorious table setting. You can buy perfect nesting material at Walmart. It comes in various colors. It is a string-like, candy substance (looks like colored coconut). The package describes it as edible Easter grass. It would be the perfect complement to these artsy, marbleized Easter eggs. 

How to make homemade Easter egg dye (not die) for Dudley refill 

Can you use food coloring for Dudley Spin an Egg Art? Of course,  you can!

You need: Food Coloring, Vinegar, Water
Optional: White Crayon

In a ceramic cup, mix together 1/2 C. of room temperature water, 1 Tbs. vinegar, and several drops of food coloring. Neon food coloring works best for vibrant eggs. You will need several drops for maximum color. You can also experiment with Kool-aid packets. Use a white crayon to draw circles or shapes that will resist the egg dye.


Use 1 Tbs. of color in your Dudley Egg Spinner or Spin Art kit. 


Recommended Reading:


Crafts For Easter (Holiday Crafts for Kids)*


175 Easy-to-Do Easter Crafts: Creative Uses for Recyclables (Easy-to-Do Crafts Easy-to-Find Things)*

Easter Egg Games for a kid's party

Get your own Dudley Spin an Egg Art*
















ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)



I'm no Martha Stewart: Parmesan Broccoli Spaghetti Recipe for Kids

Easy Weeknight Dinners: I am no Martha Stewart. Here's a quick leftover idea. Parmesan Broccoli Spaghetti Recipe

Easy Weeknight Dinner: Parmesan Broccoli Spaghetti.
Easy Weeknight Dinner: Parmesan Broccoli Spaghetti.
I try to plan meals- unsuccessfully. If I get around to cooking, then, leftovers sit in the fridge FOREVER! So, yet another night that I did not want to cook arrived. You may recall that I am trying to lose weight, this means I am also trying to avoid eating out. 

You might also like to make a little extra, plain spaghetti for sensory play.


No Martha Stewart Parmesan Broccoli Spaghetti Recipe for Kids
Parmesan broccoli spaghetti.
Saturday we had Roast Chicken with Curry, Broccoli with Cheese and Baked Potatoes. We'd all been sick and none of us had much of an appetite. Sunday we had hotdogs with Sloppy Joe Sauce. It all just sat there screaming at me to toss it. I'm tired, I thought. 

Then I remembered Alaina's blog.
She IS Martha Stewart.
Maybe, even better as she has 3 boys under 4. She does plan incredible things and actually does most of them. She is my idol and often my inspiration. So, I am feeling like a bad Mommy, I am seriously fighting the urge to say, "How about cereal tonight?" When I pull everything out of the fridge and stare at it. "By George, I think I've got it!"

Parmesan Broccoli Spaghetti Recipe for Kids
Parmesan Broccoli Spaghetti Recipe.

First, I boil a big pot of spaghetti. Then, I throw in the sloppy joe sauce. Finally, I toss in the cheesy broccoli and canned spaghetti sauce. Slop it on a plate with some parmesan and serve with those crescents from yesterday.

Martha Stewart, it ain't.

The Cooks Next Door, Alaina.
The Cooks Next Door, Alaina.

Alaina Falk, of The Cooks Next Door, not even close. Hey though, Jake hugged me and said, "You're the best Mommy ever!" I know it doesn't get any better than that :-) If you are in to planning meals this works great for those nasty Mondays.


Recommended Reading:


Toddler Café: Fast, Healthy, and Fun Ways to Feed Even the Pickiest Eater


Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cook Book (Better Homes and Gardens Cooking)