It was another busy week for our family. The kids started swim lessons this week and I have a feeling that the time and effort we are putting into this summer’s swim classes is really going to pay off this time. We tried to work in a few fun activities this week including a fun fire pit night roasting s’mores over the fire, our favorite Jazzy Sunday routine with homemade whole wheat waffles topped with blueberry syrup, and lots of time spent working on the yard and playing outside.
I also implemented a chore chart for the kids and allowance program. I will let you guys know how that works out after we have been doing it for awhile. Surprisingly, the kids are quite enthusiastic about this and money is proving to be a powerful motivator in our house.
From our 100 days of summer activity list, we tackled two fun food items and one craft idea this week.
This week we tried our hands at corn syrup painting that was featured on eighteen25 as a fun activity for the kids to do together. I mixed up a tray of paints and dug up some paint brushes and foam brushes for the kids to use to make their pictures. They each drew out their pictures in black crayon and then we painted them with the paints. The colors were beautiful and vibrant using ingredients right from our pantry.
The kids loved doing these paintings and I covered all of the paints up with plastic wrap and have put them away for a rainy day activity to keep them busy. It seems we are getting a lot of rain here in Indiana, so I am sure we will have these paints used up in no time at all.
I loved the idea of creating Coke Icees that was featured on Bake at 350 for a fun summer treat. We happened to be serving my favorite pulled pork sandwiches and the recipe calls for only 12 ounces of root beer. Instead of making root beer floats, I put four cans worth of root beer into my ice cream maker and let that churn for twenty minutes until it was nice and slushy. We all loved these and I can’t wait to make them again with other types of soda. These were a big hit at our house so I highly recommend that activity.
Finally, we tried making baked taco bowls for our taco night this week courtesy of Annie’s Eats. I didn’t realize until I started making the bowls that I had the wrong size of tortilla. It was too late to hit the store so they were truly taco bowls rather than bite-sized taco treats. Regardless, the kids absolutely loved these and my husband & I both agreed that these were a fun addition to our taco night. I will have to give these another try with the right tortillas.
It seems that the hour is never too early to begin thinking up more daring things to do together. Emily brushed up on her daring activities in her robe and with her morning slice of toast. We couldn’t be more excited to tackle fun this summer if we tried.
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Stumped for ideas this summer? Have no fear! I have you covered this year with our 100 Days of Summer Pinterest Board. There are 100 ideas for crafting, eating, and creating with your children of all ages. We promise to keep it carefree on Tuesdays and share what we tackle through our mobile uploads and you can even follow our adventures in real time through Instagram or on Twitter(my name is momadvice).
Our family is on the move and we want you to be on the move too.
Do something cool together this week.
Your kids will love you for it.
What did you tackle from your summer list this week?
Such fun and clever ideas!!
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Amy Reply:
June 21st, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Thank you so much!!!
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so what kind of ice cream maker did you get?? what kind of deal?? we LOVE icee’s in my house & of course ice cream but I had never thought of actually purchasing one. Love what you are doing with it though so it got me to thinking if I want to save up for one!! thanks!!
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Amy Reply:
June 21st, 2011 at 1:23 pm
I got one at Aldi Supermarket and it was twenty bucks! They have an inexpensive Sunbeam one at Walmart for around $26 too! We have already made three types of ice cream and those icees in the last two weeks! I am addicted
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Totally going to try those slushies very soon!
Can’t wait to hear about the chore chart you implemented.
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Amy Reply:
June 21st, 2011 at 7:30 pm
I promise to share about it. Just want to get in a good groove to make sure it really works
Definitely add those slushies to your list- yum!
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Ooo…I can’t wait to try your root beer version!
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Amy Reply:
June 21st, 2011 at 7:27 pm
So yummy! It reminded me of those mugs of root beer that we would get at the drive-through that I loved so much!! Thanks for the inspiration, Bridget!! xo
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Thanks for the fun, crafty ideas!
After talking to you at swimming, we started our own little timed clean-ups – love it! The girls are so excited to be earning $ toward getting their ears pierced.
AND – I bought some new yarn and printed out a new crochet pattern. Thanks for the inspiration
If this is a re-post sorry, my page keeps freezing up…
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Amy Reply:
June 22nd, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Oh my gosh, how cool is that? You made my day, Rachel! Maybe you and the kids can come over one day and I can put out our water slide! Friend me on Facebook if you are on there http://www.facebook.com/momadvice so we can connect. Emily & Ethan would love to have them over! We can tackle some knitting/crocheting too
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Rachel Reply:
June 24th, 2011 at 12:12 am
I’m the last person in the world not on Facebook, but email me and we’d love to get together!
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I can’t wait to try out some of the ideas on your list…
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Amy Reply:
June 28th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
I am so glad you are getting a few ideas from our list, Aimee! Thank you so much for your comment today- you made my day!
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Pingback: The Motherload » Freebie Friday: June 24, 2011
So glad your kids are loving the pool this summer! Andrew and Elise both have an hour of swimming every weekday for 6 weeks. They are really learning, but it is wearing ME out!
However, we mixed it up a bit and spent Saturday at a state park’s creek and lake instead.
Thanks for your pinterest ideas!
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So glad your kids are loving the pool this summer! Andrew and Elise both have an hour of swimming every weekday for 6 weeks. They are really learning, but it is wearing ME out!
However, we mixed it up a bit and spent Saturday at a state park’s creek and lake instead.
Thanks for your pinterest ideas!
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stupid question
I assume you add the ice and salt in the ice cream maker. I just purchased one just to make icees and I have NEVER used one or seen one used.
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Amy Reply:
July 6th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Mine does not use salt, it is an electric one that just has a plastic holder, and then you freeze the insert on the inside. Is that the kind you bought, Amy?
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