children's activities Archives

Hey Duggee! A (Not) Adoption Story

“MOM! An elephant adopted an alligator! You have to see!” I am amused, walking toward the living room. Then I am amazed. There on the screen is an elephant in a car with an alligator.

We are watching NickJr’s new animated show Hey Duggee! The show is about a big dog named Duggee, a troop leader for the Squirrel Club. The Squirrel Club Members are Tag, a rhino, Norrie, a mouse, Roly, a hippo, Betty an octopus, and Happy the alligator, whose parent is indeed an elephant.

In each episode, the Squirrel Club engages in fun educational activities that help them earn badges. The animation and dialog is simple and easy to follow making it suitable for preschoolers to watch.

The most amazing aspect of this program is that while Happy is adopted, there is no focus on it. Happy’s elephant parent is an accepted fact. I’m still not sure if the parent is mom or dad, but it really doesn’t matter. Nothing in the dialog states why Happy’s family is different. The implication is that the family is just different, that’s all.

This understatement is a big loud shout that different families are relevant and part of everyday life. The other very subtle observation is that crocodiles have attacked elephants in the wild. So even though Happy is not a crocodile but an alligator, the nuance of an elephant embracing an alligator into its heart and home nails down the fact that LOVE DOES CONQUER ALL.

In the past, television has portrayed adoption as a problem to be solved, or the adoptee or child needing a home is the center of the plot, and at times portrayed in a negative light. The audience is constantly reminded that adoption is the premise of the story, as well as the unconventionality that goes with it.

Not so with Hey Duggee! All families are welcome, with no questions asked. What amazed me most is that my child instantly recognized that Happy was adopted, without having it pointed out in the dialog. That is no small feat for children’s’ programming.

This has not gone unnoticed. Hey Duggee! has earned Studio AKA a BAFTA award in 2016 as well as an International Emmy award in 2017. The show is already in its second season and gaining popularity with adopted and traditional families alike.

Hey Duggee! can be seen on NickJr weekdays at 1:30pm EST or on the NickJr website anytime.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I did not receive any compensation as NickJr doesn’t even know about this blog. This is simply a mom excited about a new children’s program with an adoption element.

Theresa Davis has been working with children and families for years, wearing different hats, mostly as an early childhood educator and now a teaching assistant. She writes for a local publication “The Parent Pages” as a columnist for the past two years, covering topics surrounding adoption, foster parenting and special needs families. She is also a former foster parent, now an adoptive mom of one daughter. She enjoys knitting, yoga, trying new recipes, and crafting with her little one.

12:02 pm by Penelope

Dr. Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 Party Snack

I lost my dad to cancer 29 years ago this week. One of my favorite memories of my dad was a funny recipe he created on Dr. Seuss’ birthday so many years ago. This memory still brings a smile to my face. On March 2nd of each year, I have had my own private celebration to celebrate not only the life of Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel, but to celebrate a particularly fond memory of my quirky dad.

Now, as I have children of my own, Dr. Seuss’ birthday is a special way to connect my kids to a grandfather they never met. And now, we also have the added bonus that schools celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday as National Read Across America Day with Seussibration week.

Each year for Dr. Seuss’ birthday, I create a new snack for our Dr. Seuss party menu. This year I made Rice Krispie treats to resemble Dr. Seuss’ Thing 1 and Thing 2.

I made the Rice Krispie treats recipe and sliced into thin rectangles.

To make Thing 1 & Thing 2 red pants, I melted red Wilton candy melts and spooned it over the bottom portion of the treat.

For the blue hair, I used blue cotton candy. (Note: the cotton candy disintegrates in room humidity so add the hair right before serving.)

I used these Thing 1 &Thing 2 printables here to make the Thing 1 & Thing 2 name badges.

My family loved these & my brother-in-law even remarked, “the red chocolate makes them even better.” ENJOY!!!

3:22 pm by Penelope

How to Have Date Night with Kids

One of the most frustrating parts of being foster parents is that we rarely get to have a date night. With all the stress that comes with parenting traumatized children, we NEED time together. But due to regulations for foster homes and our child’s sometimes behavior issues, we can’t just leave our kids with anyone.

So we have to think outside the box. We can have “date nights” at lunch while the kids are in school.

But now we can bring the kids along on “date night.”

A photo posted by Penelope Webster (@foster2forever) on Jul 18, 2014 at 10:49am PDT

How to have Date Night with Kids

Our kids love going to Austin’s Park & Pizza — they can play video arcade games, laser tag, putt-putt, or ride go-carts and rides. And hubby and I can visit without constantly nagging our rambunctious boys to sit down.

#familyfun @austinsparkandpizza!!! #fun4feedback @ausparknpizza A photo posted by Penelope Webster (@foster2forever) on Jul 18, 2014 at 12:57pm PDT

First #rollercoaster ride!!! @austinsparkandpizza #fun4feedback @ausparknpizza

A video posted by Penelope Webster (@foster2forever) on Jul 19, 2014 at 5:28pm PDT

We like Austin’s Park & Pizza because it’s free for our family to enter! With al a carte pricing, we only have to pay for what we want to do or eat. We usually just purchase full-park passes for the kids and then just the pizza buffet for us.

But now with a new renovation, Austin’s Park & Pizza has opened a full-service bar & grill (called Austin’s Bar & Grill) and new bowling lanes. So now there’s something for everyone – including couples, like us, looking for a unique date night experience, even with the kids. Perfect for a family like ours that struggles to find child care.

My child has the “W-sit”

The boys can play in the arcade while we eat a nice dinner. Win win!

Austin’s Bar & Grill has a new grill menu by including gluten free, organic and fresh local farm-to-market items. Check out this Organic Chicken, Kale & Spinach Salad I ordered.

How’s that for thinking outside the box for date night ideas? What date night ideas work for your family? Let me know on Facebook!

Disclosure: I was provided full-park passes to Austin’s Park & Pizza for me and the kids. (My hubby had to go out of town for a family emergency.) But we love to come here regardless. My son insists on coming here for his birthday each year.

1:24 pm by Penelope

Join the #RocktoberLove Challenge to Bond with your Child

Five years ago, I was struggling with parenting our demanding, hyperactive toddler we had adopted from foster care. I stumbled upon a blog post that first introduced me to the concept of attachment therapies for adoptive families.

{That blog post, The Rockin’ Mama Challenge, was written by none other than Lisa Qualls of One Thankful Mom.}

The Challenge was to sit and rock your traumatized child 15 minutes each day to promote attachment. The uninterrupted alone time between parent and child was to help give the child a pathway to learn attachment through a simple ritual of physical closeness via rocking.

Five years ago, foster parents in my neck of the woods weren’t trained much on trauma and its effects on a child’s attachment. Not many parenting strategies were doled out either, most parenting tips were “don’t spank” and “just give a time-out.”

Five years ago, I began the Challenge fighting to keep our son still and in my lap for any amount of time. A challenge it was!!! But after a week, our son began to not resist the rocking time. After two weeks, he even asked to be rocked. As much as he fought it, my traumatized child wanted that attachment.

Five years ago, that Challenge opened my eyes to a whole new world of attachment parenting.

Join the #RocktoberLove Challenge

Now, five years later, I’d like to challenge other parents to join me in another rocking challenge during the month of October. It’s simple.

Join the #RocktoberLove Challenge Facebook group.

Rock your child for 10-15 minutes every day in October. If you miss a day, don’t give up! Just rock your child the next day! If you can’t do 10 minutes, do 5 minutes. Just rock!

Rock your child alone. No other children. No distractions. No books. No devices. No television. Just you and your child.

Keep a journal or share your experience on Instagram, Twitter or Periscope using the #RocktoberLove hashtag. Record how long, what time of day, what you did together, how your child responded, how you felt, etc.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Periscope. — And others participating in the #RocktoberLove Challenge. Start a dialog. You are not alone in this!!! Here is your village.

I’ll be periscoping my #RocktoberLove Challenge experience everyday.
Will you join me?

10:11 pm by Penelope

12 Homemade Halloween Costumes + my DIY Disney Frozen Olaf Costume

Do you need an easy Halloween costume? Are you a fan of Disney’s Frozen? Does “Elsa” need a date for Halloween? This easy DIY Disney Frozen Olaf Halloween costume is simple and would also work great as a Run Disney costume.

SUPPLIES for Hat of DIY Olaf Costume:

White baseball cap
Large googly eyes
Brown pipe cleaners (large)
Orange craft foam (for carrot nose)
Black adhesive felt (for eyebrows)
White felt (for tooth)
Hot glue gun
Black sharpie

My little boy loves his Olaf hat and has worn it on Silly Hat Day at school.

SUPPLIES for Body of DIY Olaf Costume:

White t-shirt
Brown long sleeved t-shirt or leg warmers (for Olaf’s arms)
White baseball pants
Black adhesive craft felt (for Olaf’s coal)
White socks
White shoes

Plus here’s more cute DIY Halloween Costumes!

DIY Pineapple – Sugar Bee Crafts

Pinata Shoes – Morena’s Corner

Easy Mime – Ginger Snap Crafts

Dark Fairy Wings – Crafty Lady Abby

Skein of Yarn – Dukes and Dutchessess

Caps For Sale – Blue i style

No Sew Mermaid Tutu – 365 Days of Crafts

Disney Frozen – Foster2Forever

Plants v. Zombies – Twin Dragonfly Designs

Inside Out Bing Bong – Desert Chica

Princess Anna Apron – Ruffles and Rainboots

Modern Mother Earth – BumbleBree Blog

8:28 am by Penelope

Silly Song to Teach Children to Control Emotions

My kids and I loved the Disney/Pixar movie, Inside Out! (Have you read my Inside Out movie review for foster/adoptive parents?)

What makes the Inside Out movie a great tool in parenting is that it gives kids a language to talk about ways to control emotions they are feeling. Getting your children to talk about their emotions can be quite frustrating as a parent.

Here’s a silly song about emotions so you can teach your children various ways to control emotions.

{sung to the tune of If You’re Happy and You Know It}

If you’re JOYful and you know it – Laugh out loud
If you’re ANGRY and you know it – Breathe in deep
If you’re SAD and you know it – You can cry
If you’re SCARED and you know it – Hug your dad

Be sure and read these 8 Tips to Teach Children How to Control Emotions.

If you’d like to laugh at me, here’s my blooper reel from this video.

Remember that activity also helps children regulate emotions. Check out these top toys for active boys (& girls).

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post; however, the plush toys were purchased via another sponsored post.

9:32 pm by Penelope

What I Learned When I Rode a Roller Coaster with My Son

Now that my son is getting older (he just turned 8) – he recently re-introduced me to the “joy” of riding roller coasters, and at SeaWorld, no doubt!

Did you know SeaWorld rides include roller coasters?

When was the last time you rode a roller coaster? We are talking decades for me! Last time I rode a roller coaster, I had a “Rachel” haircut and my CD collection was comprised of grunge rock bands. Before I tell you what happened after a two decade absence from thrill rides….

SeaWorld has a variety of rides depending on your bravery level or degree that you wish to get wet.

For toddlers and preschoolers, Sesame Street Bay of Play is the SeaWorld attraction must. Plus the little ones can choose to stay dry or get very wet on the splash pad. Check out all the fun this same son had as a 3-year-old when SeaWorld opened Sesame Street Bay of Play a few years ago.

On this trip, both my boys (ages 5 and 8) loved Shamu Express which was a very short, mild ride for preschoolers at least 38 inches tall. A great ride to introduce young kids to roller coaster rides (and stay dry). My son rode Shamu Express a few times, but as an 8-year-old sensory-seeker, he seemed to desire a ride that could give him more of a “thrill.”

Although Journey to Atlantis is part roller coaster and part water ride for those over 39” tall but we really didn’t want to get wet just yet!

Rio Loco is another SeaWorld ride that gets you wet. It’s like a whitewater rafting trip for those over 39” tall and you will get soaked.

Steel Eel on the other hand is strictly roller coaster. Was my 8-year-old ready for this “big kid” roller coaster? Was I?

Our sensory-seeking son was so excited to finally be just tall enough at 48 inches tall to ride his very first roller coaster!!!

And can you guess which parent had the exquisite pleasure of riding the Steel Eel with him?

During this roller coaster feat, I screamed like a hysterical madwoman giving birth to 20-pound quadruplets – the entire ride – up & down & over again! While I was screaming my lungs out as gravity reeked havoc on my senses, my brave little boy quietly smiled and held my hand. My son amazes me! His body enjoyed the sensory stimulation of the roller coaster.

Honestly, Steel Eel has no flips or sharp turns – just those really tall ups and downs – that made this scaredy-cat scream like a banshee.

There’s also the Great White roller coaster ride at SeaWorld! That roller coaster, for those over 52” tall, places you in the seat with your legs dangling down as you go up and down AND upside down. Oh, hell no! I’ll stick with the Steel Eel.

What I learned by riding a roller coaster with my little boy, is that he is quickly becoming a little man right in front of me, and he showed me that bravery doesn’t have an age!

Disclaimer: I purchased tickets for me and my family to attend SeaWorld’s AdventureCon blogging conference in San Antonio and received no compensation for doing so. All opinions about riding roller coasters at my age are my own.

6:48 am by Penelope

Celebrating Amazing Foster Dad of FIVE Little Ones

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NauticaforDad #CollectiveBias

We became foster parents in 2008 and have fostered 16 kids during that time. As parents of neglected and traumatized kids, our journey has not been easy one. In fact, we’ve had to learn our limits as parents, especially with the placements in the summer of 2012.

My husband was anxiously watching the calendar that school year. Every day that went by was one day closer to his ultimate goal in teaching — early retirement! After teaching special education for the past decade, he was eager to relax at the end of his teaching career.

Not that life at home with our two boys was relaxing. Our 5-year-old forever son, placed with us as an 8-month-old, had been having all sorts of explosive behavior that he had been kicked out of THREE day cares. We were struggling in parenting him, but then again, he’s only five, right? And parenting him with his 3-year-old brother, chaos is expected, right? We were living our normal with our two rambunctious preschoolers.

Suddenly, one day, I received a call asking if we would accept a placement. The placement was a sibling group of THREE – but we only had TWO beds available in our home. As the cloud of guilt overcame any clear thinking – I realized we only needed two beds because, get this – the baby doesn’t need a bed since she will sleep in a crib!

I immediately said “YES” because how heartless can you be to say no to a BABY, right?

In the summer of 2012, our family looked like this: our 5-year-old forever son, 4-year-old foster son, 3-year-old forever son, nearly 2-year-old foster daughter (possibly FASD), and a 9-month-old foster baby!

While I was at my quiet desk job all day, Dad was at home with FIVE kids – 3 rambunctious, quibbling preschool boys, one very active non-verbal toddler, and a baby!

Welcome to retirement, Dad! So long to a relaxing summer enjoying retirement!

The stress of parenting five little ones all day alone was overwhelming for my husband (with a history of high blood pressure, no doubt).

Our 4-year-old foster son constantly fought with our 3-year-old son. Our 2-year-old sensory-seeking foster daughter was constantly into things and would scream at just the mention of sleep – she could only fall asleep with hard rocking motion. And then there was the baby… That was along with our two forever sons.

But through that summer, I gained a new respect for my husband while parenting this herd of little ones. He is the anchor of our ever-changing family.

I also learned that I should discuss accepting foster care placements with my husband first.

And even years later, I’m still trying to make it up to him and like to treat him special on Father’s Day. With our recent move to the Austin area, I finally went and checked out the shopping at The Domain.

Since my special man likes to smell good, I went browsing at the Macy’s fragrance counter.

I discovered this deluxe gift set of the new Nautica LIFE. It retails for $65 (even though it’s valued at $128.00). It includes a 3.4 oz Eau de Toilette, 2.5 oz Aftershave Balm, 2.5 oz Shower Gel, and 1 oz Eau de Toilette.

You can celebrate your lifelong journey with the DAD in your life with new Nautica Life!

I have teamed up with Nautica fragrances via Collective Bias to host an amazing giveaway with 3 very easy ways to enter.
-One GRAND PRIZE winner will win a $4,000 cruise vacation package
-5 second place winners will win a Nautica Men’s fragrance gift set!
-Winners must be 18+
Nautica for Dad

NOTE: There is a happy ending to this story – the siblings were placed with a family member nearby. We run into the kids occasionally, and they seem well and happy.

10:45 am by Penelope

Homemade Mother’s Day Gift Idea plus FREE Printable

Hey ya’ll! I’m Deonna and I write Child at Heart: A faith-based DIY, gift ideas, and family blog. I’m a stay-at-home mom, police wife, and mommy to this little cutie 🙂

Had to share a picture from my Instagram with my new Foster 2 Forever friends 🙂 I was asked by Penelope to share an easy gift idea for Mother’s Day with you. I was one of Penelope’s roomies at Blog Elevated and we had SO much fun!

I LOVE making gifts for Mother’s Day and when I think of my mom, I think of how much she LOVES cooking…I didn’t get that gene 🙂 I found this great little measuring cup the other day and I decided to turn it into a fun kitchen candle. I am sharing a simple way to make a soy candle with essential oils in your microwave. It’s super easy and they turn out really pretty. I also made some simple gift tags that say “I Love You Beyond Measure” to add to your candle gift. All you have to do is print, cut, and you’re done!

Okay let’s make our candles:

You can choose any little bowl, cup, or mug to make this project if you don’t love the measuring cup idea. Just choose your bowl or cup and clean it out and dry it really well. I did the tutorial with this fun little bowl I found.

1. Place your wick in the center of the bowl or cup. I used a glue dot to hold it in place. Once, the hot wax hits the glue dot it will move but it does help get you ready to pour.

2. Measure your soy wax flakes by pouring them into your cup twice. This should be enough to fill the bowl once it’s melted. I melted them in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Stir to make sure it is thoroughly melted.

3. Add your essential oils of choice. I did about 20 or 30 drops and my candles don’t smell very strong so if you want a stronger scent, use more. Stir for about 2 minutes and then slowly pour into your bowl or cup.

4. Place a small piece of wax paper over the candle with a hole in it for the wick. This will keep your wick centered while the wax hardens. Allow several hours to cool.

Here are some of the other finished candles! Besides the bowl and measuring cup, I used a tiny tea cup and a coffee mug that I wrote on with a gold Sharpie. The printable gift tags for the mug and tea cup are available on my blog as well. Just click on them, print, cut, and you’re done!

FREE Printable Gift Tags: Click on the link, print, cut, and tie it on your gift with some cute ribbon or jute. I made a colorful option and also a black and white option. You could hit the black and white tags with some watercolors for a fun twist!

“I Love You Beyond Measure” Gift Tag Printables in Color

“I Love You Beyond Measure” Gift Tag Printables in Black and White

Please check out some of my other DIY projects and family posts and thank you SO much for letting me come visit 🙂

Which candle is your favorite? What other things could you use from your kitchen for a candle gift?