Monthly Archives: September 2018

Alphabet Kaboom Game

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This summer, Buddy and I spent a lot of time working on alphabet activities. When I came across the idea for the alphabet kaboom game on The Many Little Joys’s blog, I was excited to make it to play with Buddy. However, when we tried to play the game, Buddy wasn’t interested in it. So I put it away for another day.

I pulled out the kaboom game this weekend, and Buddy and I had a blast! The set up for the game is super simple. I grabbed a handful of jumbo popsicle sticks and wrote a different letter of the alphabet on the bottom of each one. I also wrote the word Kaboom on the bottom of six sticks. Then I put the sticks in a metal bucket so the written parts were in the bucket.

It’s very easy to play the game. We took turns pulling out a stick and saying the letter. Sometimes we would add a word that started with that letter as well. But whenever someone pulled a Kaboom stick, that person had to put back all of his/her popsicle sticks. At the end of a set amount of time, whoever has the most sticks wins. Buddy didn’t like the idea of setting a timer, so we just listened to music and the game ended at the end of each song.

Uh oh! Buddy got a Kaboom!

Buddy liked this game so much that we played it over and over again! We probably played eight or more games in one sitting. It was a wonderful way to practice letters, and we both had fun. We will be playing it again soon.

 

Best Car Seats for Air Travel

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This has been a big car seat week for our family, because we finally changed Buddy’s car seat to be forward facing. We waited as long as we could, but he finally got too tall for facing backward in his seat. In the process, we’ve bought a new forward facing seat for Hubby’s car. All of this car seat change has me reflecting on the seats we’ve had so far, and what I’ve learned about traveling with them.

*Disclaimer- this post contains affiliate links for your convenience. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*

I’m often asked by friends with kids about how we fly with a car seat. Since Hubby works for an airline, we fly with Buddy often. We have also purchased car seats specifically because they would be useful for flying. This blog covers what I’ve learned at every car seat age.

There are a few options with flying with car seats. You can check your car seat with checked baggage. You can bring it through the airport and either check it at the gate or bring it onto the plane. And finally, you can rent a car seat if you are renting a car at your destination. I’ve never trusted that, and the options of car seats are very limited. Hubby and I never considered this to be a good option for us, so we’ve always brought our own seat with us.

Infant Car Seat

When Buddy was an infant, he flew on our laps. Because we didn’t have a seat for him, we always checked his bucket car seat. We bought this car seat backpack to help carry the seat into the airport. We always added baby food, extra diapers, and Buddy’s clothes in this backpack as well. I put all of these extras into extra large ziplocks, so I could easily pull out the car seat away from the rest.

Buddy’s first flight!

The one thing I wanted to mention about the infant seat is that you don’t have to fly with the base as well. Those bases are heavy, and I’m amazed when I see people carrying them through the airport! Our car seat was able to be strapped in with just a seat belt, and I think that is common for most infant carriers. (Be sure to read your manual to double check before you fly.)

I hated checking the seat because I always worried about it getting lost. We did lose a bag on one our flights with infant Buddy, but fortunately that was my luggage and not Buddy’s car seat.  It may be worth buying a seat for your infant to not risk losing the car seat. (Plus, your infant is safer in a car seat on the plane than in your arms.)

Baby Buddy in his baby car seat.

Convertible Car Seat

When Buddy outgrew his bucket seat, I got a Britax Advocate for my car. However, we knew we didn’t want to travel with that seat because it weighs a ton! After a lot of research, I got a recommendation for a lightweight convertible car seat from a friend of mine who flies with her kids even more than I do. She recommended the Evenflo Tribute LX, which is what we ended up getting. It weighs 9 pounds, so it was even lighter to carry through the airport than Buddy’s infant seat. It doesn’t have a ton of padding, but Buddy’s always been very comfortable in it. We’ve taken it on long car trips, and he seems just as happy in it as in mine. The best part about it is that it’s a very affordable car seat with great safety reviews. It’s also pretty easy to install in both cars and airplanes. 

When Buddy was under two, we still hauled this seat in the back pack and checked it. But once he turned two and we had to get him his own seat, we took it onto the plane with us. It was a great peace of mind knowing the seat wouldn’t get lost. To get the seat through the airport, we used this belt to tie the seat onto either my suitcase or Buddy’s stroller. You are supposed to be able to use the car seat as a stroller once it’s belted to the suitcase, but I never tested that out.

Buddy was forward facing on the plane in this seat (There’s not really enough space to rear face on a plane), but he was always rear facing in this seat in cars. The only big drawback to this seat is that it only lasts until 40 pounds, which is why we ended up buying a new car seat for Buddy this week. But since we paid around $50 for it in the first place, I don’t have a problem having to upgrade it after two and a half years.

Forward Facing

When I was researching traveling convertible car seats, I came across the Ride Safer Travel Vest. Hubby and I were so excited about the idea of carrying a vest with us instead of a car seat, and we had to wait two long years between learning about it, and when Buddy was finally old enough to get it. (The Ride Safer Vest is made for forward facing kids from ages 3-8.) This vest is basically a belt positioning booster, and it makes the regular car seat belt hit Buddy’s body appropriately. It comes in a travel bag, and it’s so easy to throw in one of our carry ons. We also love bringing it with us when we need to Uber somewhere. It is a lifesaver, and we love it so much!

If you have questions about flying with young children, please share in the comments section. Best wishes for safe travels!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom STEM Game

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When I discovered Preschool STEAM’s blog this summer, I wanted to try out some of their Storytime STEAM activities for Time to Read Tuesday. This Chicka Chicka Boom Boom building activity made me excited because I already had all of the necessary materials. Plus we love the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

*Disclaimer- this post contains affiliate links for your convenience. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*

Originally, I had planned to do the activity the same way that Preschool STEAM did it. I gathered the materials to build a coconut tree (wooden blocks and popsicle sticks), and then I asked Buddy to see how many letters he could get into the tree. We read the story first, and then we started to build the tree. I didn’t have jumbo popsicle sticks, so we just used regular sized ones. However, I think jumbo ones would work even better. 

Once we started putting on letters, Buddy had the idea for turning the activity into a game. And I’m so glad he did, because we had so much fun! He asked to get our fishing pole from this bath set to use with the letters. (If you don’t have something similar, you can also use a kitchen spoon, string, and paperclip like we did in this fishing for magnetic letters activity.) 

Buddy decided we would take turns using the fishing pole to get a letter and then we’d put it on a tree. Of course, we said the letter as we picked each one. Whoever made the letters fall down lost the game. We also cried out “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” when that happened. It reminded me a lot of the game Jenga and a game from my childhood called Don’t Monkey Around. We had a great time playing together.

Every time the majority of the letters fell, we took down the whole tree and talked about ways to rebuild it to be stronger. We tried laying more popsicle sticks and arranging them in different ways. Then we’d play the game again to see if we could do better than the last time.

This activity is one of my new favorites. It took no time to set up, and very little time to pick up. It was a great way to practice letters with Buddy, and it was so much fun! We will definitely be playing this game again soon!

Do you have any other ideas for fun alphabet activities? Please share your ideas in the comments section.

Cooking with Kids: Lemonade Pie

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Happy Labor Day! It’s amazing that summer is already over, and fall is about to start. Hubby and Buddy made an amazing lemonade pie together this summer, and I wanted to share the recipe while it still feels summery outside.

Hubby loves to make desserts, and he often experiments with different types of pies. He came across this recipe for Lemonade Pie on Desserts Corner You Tube page. It was so easy and delicious, that the second time he made it, he let Buddy help.

Here are the needed ingredients:

For the Lemonade Pie

  • 1 5 oz can Evaporated milk
  • 1 3.4oz box of instant lemon pudding mix, one small box
  • 2 8oz packages of cream cheese
  • ¾ cup frozen lemonade concentrate

For the Pie Crust

  • 2⅔ cup graham cracker crumbs
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ½ cup butter, melted

Buddy and Hubby made the pie crust first. They broke up graham crackers and threw them into the food processor. Then Hubby let Buddy press the buttons to blend them. You could also throw them into a gallon ziplock and crush with a rolling pin. 

Then, they measured ⅓ cup of sugar and ½ cup melted butter and mixed them together. 

Once everything was mixed, they pushed it into a deep dish pie dish. They actually used a deep dish pizza dish, but it could also be done with a regular deep dish pie plate. When the pie crust is done, it needs to bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Then it has to cool entirely before the pie can be made and added.

Buddy needed to nap during the pie part of the process, but it is easy enough that he could have helped if he was awake. Hubby mixed together the can of evaporated milk and lemon pudding and set it aside. Then he whipped cream cheese with a mixer until it was light and fluffy. Next, he gradually added the lemonade concentrate to the cream cheese. Then he mixed it with the pudding and put it into the cooled pie crust. The recipe says to refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, but we have found that at least 24 hours is needed, and it gets firmer and better every day after. We like to top ours with fresh strawberries.

The flavor is so lemony and delicious! We all love it! It is a new favorite at our house, and I hope we’ll have it again before apple pie season starts.