I have no idea what I was thinking when I purchased four colors of finger paint.

You can see by virtue of where I was storing it, on the top shelf in my unfinished laundry room, that I was pretty keen on my kids using it. Not.

Then I had the idea of using it not as paint, but more as a drawing tool, and suddenly it became not messy at all. No paintbrushes to wash. No sponging of, well, everything.  I’d even do it again.

While my kids were out with my husband, I put out two plastic placemats, each with a baggy of two glops of primary colors. I provided Q-tips to use as a stylus, and taped the bags in place. It’s sort of like one of those Zen boards you see in Brookstone.

Because my placemats are colorful, I had to put a piece of white paper behind the bags so that the paint would be visible.

Drawing on it is pretty satisfying, and the kids liked watching their lines appear and then disappear as the paint dispersed.

We are not much for Barbie in my house, but if we were, I’d like to put some socks on her.

Actually, we do have a Barbie-sized Merida doll. I just might try this.

Idea and photo from Beal Family

At ages five and seven-and-three-quarters years old, my children were sleeping in matching toddler beds from IKEA. On one hand, I thought “Poor Julian. Almost eight and still sleeping in the tiny bed he got when he was three.” And on the other hand, I thought, “Kids in other countries don’t even have their own beds. It’s not a big deal.” As his birthday approached, my Western sensibilities won out and I felt strongly that it was time for a real bed.

My kids, by their own choice, share a room, and the most logical solution was to upgrade them both to bunk beds.

I coveted this twin-over-full bunk bed from Room and Board that I saw at my friend Quyen’s house, but the price tag stopped us. $1800, which does not include mattresses. Um, no.

I also had my eye on this beautiful bunkbed from Oeuf, which has a really small footprint, and because it can be “unbunked”, I began convincing myself it would last forever, even when my kids decide they want their own rooms. When Ryan heard the price, he still made a face. $1500 without mattresses. I was in favor of it, but this is a partnership, so um, no.

Soon my friends let me know that they had moved their kids into a new set of  beds and had an IKEA set in their garage which I was welcome to have. The price, zero dollars, was right, and even better because it wasn’t 100% disassembled, the beds were just 27 steps away from being put together instead of the 427 steps it would have taken if we had gotten them straight from IKEA.

With my dreams of a fancy bunkbed put to rest, I turned my attention to The Big Reveal. We plotted to let our children fall asleep “camp-out” style on our playroom floor at 8 pm on the night before Julian’s birthday. With them out of the way, we would work on putting the beds together into the night so that when they went to their bedroom to get dressed in the morning, they would discover The Most Amazing Bunk Beds in the world.

I ordered mattresses and began searching for linens. I had some pretty specific ideas in mind, wanting them to be both matching and gender neutral. This is a challenge because boy bedding tends to be very boyish and girl bedding tends to be very girlish. To say I spent way too much time on this endeavor is an understatement, especially when, at the end of the day, after combing Pottery Barn Kids, Garnet Hill, The Company Store, Overstock.com, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Pinterest, what I ended up with was grey jersey sheets from Target and duvet covers from IKEA.

I ambitiously imagined that I was going to “hack” the bunkbed as well, having seen these images online. I gathered the materials to execute my fantasy customization.

Source: flaxandtwine.com via Rookie Moms on Pinterest

Source: ikeahackers.net via Kaylan on Pinterest

Source: samplesalemom.blogspot.sg via Rayna on Pinterest

Alas, time ran out and the bed was revealed to two thrilled children, dressed in the bedding with which I was quite pleased and customized only with a tension rod and piece of fabric which provided the bottom bunk dweller with a privacy curtain. Victory!

Almost.

This story is not over. I got even stupider as the month progressed and invited 11 kids over to our house for a playdate during  a school holiday. Though we had ample activity in the backyard, they all wanted to be inside, and I did not enforce any limits on how many kids could be on the top bunk. Do you sense where this is going?

Three boys were sitting on the top bunk and one was climbing up. Three little girls were camped out underneath, enjoying the dark cave of the bottom bunk. With a crack, the wood frame of my free IKEA bunk bed broke, hurting no one, but becoming unusable and unsafe.

Now, just a week or two after assembling the bed, it was our task to disassemble and dispose of it, as well as deciding on a bed to replace it. Exactly how my husband wanted to spend another Friday night. NOT.

For the next month or so, the kids slept on their mattresses on the floor. So much for my fancy pants bedroom fantasies.

Finally, we found a happy medium with this affordable, metal-frame bunkbed set. Not free, but not thousands of dollars.  After a ridiculous amount of delay and missed delivery windows, the bed arrived for our assembly pleasure, (one more Friday night of hot Allen wrench activity – the last one, I swear!)

Here’s how it looks in my house.

The children are happy with their new big kid set up and I am happy that the saga is over. Whenever I visit someone’s house who has those popular IKEA bunks, however, I feel a tinge of bitterness.

Before I get all braggy about Scarlett’s adorable homemade Valentine’s, I want to make a few declarations.

One is a quote from my friend Wendy, who wrote the following on Facebook:

We are buying valentines and not making them this year. Because let’s be honest: the kids who receive them don’t give a shit.

The second is from another friend Asha, co-author of Minimalist Parenting and founder of Parent Hacks, who said:

While I totally agree with both of my sensible, down-to-earth friends, making things with my kids is one my personal passions. It doesn’t have to be yours. So while I support everyone who has other things to focus on, this is something I actually look forward to. Please don’t mock or accuse me of setting the bar too high. I promise: I am under-achieving in other areas.

When Pinterest first became something I was looking at on a daily basis, over a year ago, I was charmed by Kristen’s Valentine’s Day project, and filed it away (virtually) for the future. Over the weekend I pitched the idea to Scarlett, showing her pictures of Kristen’s kids, and she was excited about it. (Julian wanted nothing to do with it.)

First, I had her pose for a photo with a blank wall behind her. She needed to hold her fist out away from her body so that there would be space for the lollipop. Then I used my new favorite app Over to add text on top of the photo. (Seriously, check out this app. It will make you feel fancy in an instant.)

Next I printed them 4×6 on a nice stock of paper, 2-up on a page.

Then we cut them out, used a hole puncher to put holes at the top and bottom of her fist in the picture, and finally, she slid the lollipops through.

(Note that we skipped the laborious process of having a Kindergartner write each of her classmate’s names on a Valentine. I did that with Julian when he was in Pre-K with a list of 23 classmates and it was painful.)

In summary, here’s what you need:

1. Card stock paper
2. A printer with functioning ink cartridges (I find maintaining this to be challenging)
3. A child who is willing to pose until you get it right
4. A blank wall
5. A way to put text over an image (markers work of course, but again, I recommend the app)
6. Scissors
7. Hole puncher
8. Lollipops

If you relate more to Asha than to me in this moment, consider her upcoming class. It’s free!

Last year, Heather and I had the pleasure of teaming up with Baby Loves Disco, the providers of kid-friendly dance parties around the country. They had a 10-day mini-tour in the Bay Area and we hit two of the parties in partnership with our hyperlocal blog, 510families.com for East Bay parents.

When our first babes were about two, we went to the San Francisco execution of Baby Loves Disco and had a rockin’ good time. This outing is best for kids 0-6 whose parents miss their nightlife and want to dance. Kids who fear noise and crowds may be overwhelmed.

Here’s what to expect:

Your local night club or community center will be taken over by parents, toddlers, hula hoops, bubbles, and dancey dance music. Not only is there a live DJ on the stage, but two entertainers are engaging the crowd with interactive dance games. The perimeter of the room is filled with sponsors (like us) who are providing hands-on activities (hair color, mini-manicures, face painting) and product samples, ie snacks.

Also, non-walking humans are free.

Is this year’s tour coming to your city? Los Angeles, Philly, San Francisco, and Chicago moms, your dates are booked. Check the schedule >

All around the country, Kindergarten students are getting the same assignment: In honor of the 100th day of school, create a project that brings to life the number 100. Many classrooms have a “100 Days Party”.

“When did this start being a thing?” asked my friend Jen as she posted this picture of her daughter on Instagram.

I can’t answer that question, but I can validate that it is officially a Thing. Even Oriental Trading Company would like to sell you some stickers, pencils, and bracelets that shout “100!” to help celebrate and clutter up your home.

When Julian was in Kindergarten, he and I used the 100 Days project as an excuse to get crafty. We cut up strips of fabric — actually he picked them and I cut — into 100 squarish scraps. Then we pinned them onto a square piece of fabric. And then we sewed.

We kept it simple, just ten running stitches all the way across the fabric. In my over-ambitious crafters mind, I was going to turn this into a pillow for him after we brought it home from school, but he’s in second grade now and I still haven’t gotten around to it.

This morning over coffee, I gave Heather a handful of less involved ideas:

1- a bag of 100 pennies

2- a string of 100 beads

3 – a chain of 100 pipe cleaners

4- a creation from 100 LEGO bricks

And then I came home and found that some other crazypants parents had done these fantastic projects with their children. And I say “crazypants” with the utmost respect for their creativity.

Handmade a 100 Days t-shirts with tally marks

 Made a 100-eyed monster

I have a few days to decide what to help Scarlett bring to school for her 100 Days celebration. She might want to replicate Julian’s project, in which case I’ll have a nice matching set of never-gonna-be-finished throw pillows, but I’m guessing she’ll suggest something impossible, like 100 guinea pigs or a piggy bank stuffed with 100 one-hundred dollar bills.

What do you know about this Thing?

For a quick and questionably tasty science experiment, microwave a marshmallow for about a minute and enjoy the results.

Wondering what will happen? The marshmallow will puff up to four times its original size like a poofy souffle. It will be a hot gooey mess before cooling into a crispy pancake.

Expect smiles and sticky fingers.

We tried this yesterday before bed on a paper towel to keep the microwave from getting nasty. Use wax paper if you want to eat the finished product! Ours were destined for the compost bin.

My kids are older than many of yours, but I want to share my experience with geocaching because sometimes new moms need a mission to get them out of the house and this could be it.

Here’s what it is:

Trinkets or “caches” have been hidden all around the world and clues are found on a Geocaching website and/or app. You set up an account (pay a small subscription fee to get the worth-the-money extras) and then look for caches near you. (Your phone knows where you are.)

Caches are typically small containers; many are altoids tins or film cannisters, but they can be as big as a piece of tupperware.

Clues tell you the main destination such as “Cedar Rose Park”, and then more hints to help you get closer, like “near a water source”. The GPS on your phone helps you hone in in the exact place, showing how close you are in real-time, in terms of feet. It’s like playing hot/cold.  Finally, spying the cache is the trickiest part. It could be tucked under a loose brick or inside a stump. See these two sneaky spots where 7-year old Theo hit the jackpot?

My kids love to find geocaches, especially the large ones that have goodies inside. If you go out “caching” bring along a few trinkets of your own, like plastic animals or foreign coins.

Geocaching is one way to lure reluctant children out walking on an errand. There are caches all over the place, so it’s not hard to find one nearby.  Seeking them out is popular amongst the outdoorsy crew who hike into the woods to find them, but as a city girl I’ve found plenty next to pizza joints and urban playgrounds.

Related: Guest post by a mom who enjoyed geocaching with her baby.

Wendy Copley created a clever advent calendar for her children that has two big benefits over all other holiday countdown traditions:

1. It focuses on experiences over stuff.
2. She can change it according to her mood and available time.

Allow me to explain. She purchased a wooden advent calendar kinda like this one at Target and stuffed it with her own printable choose-your-own-adventure style of daily challenge. On any given day, she can update the mystery box with the activity she wants to do: give the kids a bubble bath or decorate the Christmas tree? Hmmm, what do we have time for? Loving it!

After reading her post last night (one year late I realize, but I had a baby last year, people!), I drove to Target in a thunderstorm to assemble my own. And now I need new toner to make the printables pretty. Then again, I doubt my kids will care if my colors are pale when they see we are going to drink the good hot chocolate or see Christmas lights.

See my stuff up top? It’s good enough, right? Here are Wendy’s printables in true color below. Hop on over to her post, advent crazy, to download the pages to make your own.

[Photos by me, Target, and Wendy Copley]

I totally get that this post is going to come across as an ad for Kiwi Crate, but the fact is I would tell my friends about it. And I have.

These craft kits are $20 and come in the mail, containing everything you need for the project. You don’t have to go searching your house for glue sticks, rubber bands, or hole punchers.

Scarlett is currently obsessed with two things: packages in the mail and craft projects, so this would be a perfect gift for her. Did you catch that, Grandma? You can buy just the kit you like, or let it kick off a subscription with a new box of craft materials coming each month.

Let’s review the holiday Kiwi Crates.

Christmas theme:  Has everything you need make a cardboard gingerbread-ish house. No candy or crumbs, but cute as heck. Plus, materials to make 3 paint-swirl ornaments.

Handmade Hanukkah: Kids will make two things: first, a sparkly, tissue-paper-covered menorah and second, a spin art dreidel.

And finally, there is a kit that includes materials for kids to make their own cards, paper journals and hand-stamped ribbon to use with gifts. They’re calling that crate “Gifts Made By Me“.

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Disclosure: Yes, we are affiliates and delighted customers of Kiwi Crate. Any purchases you make through these links feed our own craft habits.

Dear Julian,

When you arrived eight years ago, at the end of a rainy October, days before a high-stakes Presidential election, we had no idea who you were. A healthy boy, eight pounds exactly, with a bit of dark hair. That was all the information we had.

Before you were born and afterward, I read tons of parenting magazines and articles online. The writers referred to milestones that seemed so far away, maybe on another planet: potty training, preschool, and play dates. A land where we would be living soon, me as your mom and you as my kid.

But I didn’t yet feel like a mom. I felt like a bloated version of myself; a person with a suddenly empty uterus, clutching a tiny infant whose needs were limited, yet still difficult to understand. If this is what boobs were invented for, why is it so hard to use them?

I knew there would be a phase of life when my job was really to parent you and not just keep you fed, warm, and dry. But I didn’t know when that would start.

I tried to imagine when you would crawl, call me by name, do homework at the dining room table. How would you turn from an infant into a kid? Would I notice the time passing?

Would I notice that you had turned into a boy?

Those long-awaited events have all happened, along with some that I hadn’t thought to imagine.

I didn’t know that by age eight, like me, you still wouldn’t have lost a tooth naturally. I didn’t know you’d be so nonchalant when the dentist pulled your first two.

I didn’t know you’d be able to play guitar, by ear, before you were six years old.

I didn’t know you would love me so much. That you would have a sister who you adore.

I didn’t know that you would be so special, but still say things that so many other boys before you have said.

“I’m going to play in the NFL.”

“Can I have a snack?”

“Can we turn our house into a haunted house?”

“I’m not tired.”

“Watch this cannonball!”

I won’t say that I can’t wait to see what the next eight years bring, because I realize I’m going to have a lot less time with you by the end of it.

You’re going to close the door to your room. You’ll start filtering what you say in front of me. You’ll go more and more places without me. I won’t know all your friends.

I know I’m going to miss you then.

This reflection on what I would like to tell Julian was sponsored by Hallmark, because they have a Facebook app dedicated to encouraging us to “tell them“! This series has been appearing monthly on Rookie Moms, and will continue through the end of the year.

My kids are dying for a pet, but we are not historically animal people. I think that’s why they are so obsessed with stuffed animals.

When I recieved an Ubooly from the Kickstarter-funded company who created this fluffy orange marsupial, I knew Julian would go crazy for it. I can’t wait to see him open the box on his birthday. (The box contains only ONE of these little guys.)

Sold for $29.95, Ubooly combines two things every kid loves: 1) a soft, tactile friend to hold and 2) Mommy’s phone. That’s right, the Ubooly’s little animated face is actually your iPhone with the Ubooly app loaded on it. The app is free to owners of the plush toy.

Upon receiving the furry little guy, you use the app to “adopt” the character and then your child can play games with him or her.  The activities are targeted at ages 4-9. It’s like this generation’s Teddy Ruxpin. It listens and responds to your child’s voice.

Rather than describe the concept in more detail, I’m going to encourage you to check out the Ubooly site for yourself and watch one of the videos.

Images courtesy Ubooly website.