water bead fun and kid made bracelets

You have probably noticed on other blogs how water beads are taking over sensory tables. Well if you haven't tried them yet I'd recommend giving them a try. They are quite messy when they get squished into a million pieces but that's half the fun (beware also of washing them down the drain as they expand and will clog up your drains), but if you are careful they will be a lot of fun!

I went to Michael's looking for floral wire as I am making a vintage brooch bouquet for a friends wedding in April and noticed them in the floral isle. They come in tiny packs in various colours. I chose light blue and dark blue thinking they'd resemble water (but in the end they looked very similar).

We put them in a bowl, added some water and waited about 4 hour hours for them to hydrate. 

We added them to a sensory bin with some aquatic animals and the kids had a blast for days...leaving me time to work on packing, sorting and selling. 

These were a big hit...even daddy thought they'd be fun in the bathtub but since the manufacturer recommends they stay AWAY from drains we didn't give that a try. However a mini pool full in the summer might be fun!

Since we are packing lots we are ending up with lots of empty packaging tape rolls. I LOVE how Sierra found an empty roll and created this...

beautiful bracelet all on her own :)

Hullabaloo...

Do you know the game Hallabaloo???

While selling stuff in preparation of moving someone asked me if I had this game for sale and I said no I had never heard of it. She explained it to me and I thought it sounded fun so I ran to Value Village to see if I could find one and guess what...I DID for only $3.99!!!

The girls LOVE it. It's simple, it's easy and it's even easy enough that they can play by themselves when we need a few minutes to pack alone.

Just place all the pieces on the floor, turn on the machine and it talks to you and tells you what to do. This game is best summed up as a cross between Twister and Simon Says. Lots of fun...even for dad and mom!

So if you don't know this game...you can buy it HERE or keep your eyes out at thrift stores as it's worth the wait!

Oh and while at Value Village I also got these two books for $1.99 each...looks like Ontario is speaking to us :)

a new use for old colouring books, Valentines activity and yep she's SOLD!

While packing things up this week we also are sorting everything in the house and have come up with a neat idea to reuse a favourite colouring book that all the pages are coloured in. Both my girls love dot to dots so this is what we came up with to extend the life of a favourite book (as when I suggested tossing them in the recycle bin I was faced with very teary eyed girls).

This is simple to to do just take a sheet of white paper and lay it ontop of the desired page. Draw dots along the main outline of the picture, draw in the features, then the kids can do the dot to dot and then colour the picture again :) Brilliant if I don't say so myself! A great pre-writing activity to practice fine motor skills too!

We've started making some Valentines this week as I am sure the 14th will sneak up on us quickly. While packing I came across this book...Things to Make and Do for Valentines Day by Tomie de Paola published in 1976.

I remember as a child making all kinds of Valentines out of heart shapes so when I found this printable (can be download from HERE)

 it reminded me of those heart creations from my childhood. I showed Sierra and she was all for making some for her friends at school. Her and Aayla both made 2 each tonight...these might end up being teacher gifts as they might get bored of them before they make 20 each! But so far they are looking pretty cute :)

And yes seven (7) hours after our first showing we had an accepted offer and all subjects were removed tonight so our house is

SOLD! It's dark and late here now so no picture of the gorgeous four letter word on our sign but it's done! I am happy to not have to try to keep the house immaculate for showings...we can concentrate now on selling off the furniture and preparing for our move to Ontario.