Monthly Archives: October 2017

DIY Puppy Costume

I have always been a fan of homemade costumes. No one else has a costume just like yours, and you can make it to look exactly like you wanted it to. My mom always made our Halloween costumes every year. She loved to sew, and she put a lot of effort into our costumes. My favorite was a Snow White costume with puffed sleeves. And my sister’s homemade Glinda costume won her the best costume contest in 8th grade.

Me at age 5 in my Snow White costume.

While I don’t have the same high level of sewing skills as my mom, I do still enjoy using my sewing machine. Buddy really wanted to be a puppy, so I wanted to make an easy DIY puppy costume for him. I started by buying a sweat pant suit and some white fake fur. Buddy and I went fabric shopping together, and we both fell in love with the fake fur. I thought it would make the costume extra special and fun. It was a huge mess though, so if I were to do it over, I would use fleece or felt instead.

I used printer paper to sketch out a pattern for the ears and belly circle. I used the same pattern for both sides to make it symmetrical. To make sure it didn’t slip, I pinned the paper to the fabric before I cut it. Hubby thought my original ears were too short, so I used one folded over to make the tail.

I used my sewing machine to sew the ears, belly, and tail onto the hoodie. Since I want Buddy to use the pants again, I left them plain. (I did have to hem them though!) It wasn’t too hard to sew through the fake fur, but it dulled and eventually broke my needle. I sewed the ear on the underside, and the belly and tail through the furry side.

The final costume, and the only picture where you can see the tail.

Aside from the huge, furry mess, I was pretty happy with the costume. Then, we went to a Halloween party and everyone thought he was a bunny. Buddy was happy with that, but I wasn’t.

Buddy in his costume for the first time.

I trimmed the ears a bit to make them look a little less like bunny ears. Also, I made a collar by sewing a circle of felt onto ribbon. I attached it in the back with Velcro. Those two details made a huge difference, and at our next Halloween event, everyone knew he was a puppy.

I had originally hoped that Buddy would be able to keep his hoodie for dress up, but there’s no way that will happen with the fake fur. I plan to take the fur off, and redo the hoodie as a dinosaur. In my ideal world, I will be able to do that in time to make it a Christmas gift, but we’ll see if that actually happens. Whenever it does, I’ll make sure to blog about it.

I’m looking forward to trick or treating with Buddy tomorrow. I hope you and your family have a very happy Halloween!

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Cooking With Kids: Baked Ravioli

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Buddy and I recently made baked ravioli together. I was looking for an easy recipe to try with Buddy, and I realized ravioli would be good to try. We used this recipe from Betty Crocker.

First, I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and greased a glass baking dish. Then, I pulled out the ravioli, spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and a large spoon.

I scooped a few large spoonfuls of sauce into the bottom of the pan. Then, Buddy used the spoon to smooth it out.

Next, Buddy and I put a layer of ravioli on top of the sauce. We used the fresh packaged Buitoni, but I have also done this with frozen ravioli. We ended up using two packages so we could have enough for company and another night of leftovers.

Once we put down the ravioli, we covered it with a layer of sauce and cheese. Buddy is getting better about sprinkling out the cheese evenly instead of throwing down clumps of cheese.

After that, we repeated the steps with another layer of ravioli, sauce, and cheese. We also added a little Parmesan cheese to the top.

We covered our pan with aluminum foil and baked it for 40 minutes. Then we took the foil off and baked for another 15 minutes.

This ravioli was so easy, and so delicious! Buddy’s Nana and Great Aunt were visiting us, and they were so impressed that Buddy made our dinner! We all loved it, and Buddy’s asked for ravioli several times since we made it. I would highly recommend it as an easy and fun recipe for kids.

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Easy Chores for a Two Year Old

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I think it’s important for kids of all ages to have chores and responsibilities. That’s why I hire students to do various jobs in my classroom. And that’s why Buddy has had chores since he was one.

I blogged about Buddy’s chores as a one year old here. At that time, Buddy was 21 months old, and his chores were: putting away toys and books, putting clothes in hamper, dusting, cleaning up food messes, and helping with laundry. Now that he’s two and a half, I’ve expanded the types of things I ask him to do at home. Buddy loves helping, and he enjoys doing all of these tasks.

Carrying Mail

Buddy and I get the mail together after school every day. Some days, he wants to carry it all. Other days, he only wants one or two things. Carrying the mail makes him feel very important, so he loves to do it.

Pushing the Trash Bins

Buddy thinks pushing the trash bins is so much fun. We have to do it together because, clearly, the trash bins are way too big for him. But I enjoy the help. Together, we make a good team.

Throwing Out Trash

It was an exciting day in our house when Buddy figured out how to do the step lever for our trash can. Now he can actually throw away his trash without any help from me. This is particularly helpful when I’m busy with something else. For example, tonight I was cleaning up our dishes, and I asked Buddy to pick up some food from the floor and throw it away. And he did!

Picking Up Ice

This is my favorite thing Buddy does for us. Our refrigerator randomly spits ice out on the floor, and it’s so annoying to stop what I’m doing to go pick it up. Buddy loves running to get the ice and throwing it into the sink.

Wiping Tables

Buddy and I have been cooking a lot together recently, and he’s great at wiping up the table when we’re done. I also ask him to wipe up his little table when he gets crayon on it or after we play with Play doh.

Unloading the Dishwasher

Since Buddy loves to help, he’s always eager to get into the dishwasher when Hubby and I are unloading. And unfortunately, everything is just too high for him to put away much by himself. I’ve read some mom blogs that said they had the kid dishes down low so the kid can put it away. That didn’t work for me though. I like how my kitchen is organized, and I didn’t want to change that for the sake of having Buddy help.

Then a friend of mine posted a picture similar to my one above of her elementary school age kid unloading the silverware. Her point was to point out how funny it was that her son felt the need to sit down while helping. But for me, it was a great source of inspiration. Buddy is great at sorting, and he loves sorting the silverware. I always put away the steak knives, but Buddy can do the rest himself. He is so proud, and I’m so thankful that he’s no longer underfoot while I’m unloading the dishwasher.

Washing the Windows

Yes, I make my two year old wash the windows. And it’s amazing. Washing the windows was on my summer bucket list, and I told Buddy he could help or play by himself. Of course, he wanted to help. So I sprayed the whole window with cleaner, and then I wiped the top half and Buddy wiped the bottom half. He really enjoyed the whole process, so we’ve done it a couple times since then.

I’m so proud of Buddy for being willing to help me around the house, and I hope that doesn’t change for a long time. If you have any other ideas for good chores for young children, please share in the comments.

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